The Beginning... Again?
by Gypsy3
Summary: In the middle of a thunderstorm, time and space warp themselves around a woman and lead her to possibly the greatest choice of her life. Rating is for language and violence
1. Leigh Crawford

Title: The Beginning... Again?  
Rating: prolly PG / PG-13. some swearing...  
Spoilers: None.  
Summary: In the middle of a thunderstorm, time and space warp themselves around a woman and lead her to possibly the greatest choice of her life.  
  
Disclaimers: As with all FICs, I don't own Ardeth Bay or any characters or places from The Mummy movies. I do, however, own Leigh Crawford, Hamid and the other original characters. Read and Review Please! I love reading the reviews good and bad! This one is a variation on my normal FICs. Usually I stick with the UC: Undercover FICs, but when this one hit me sitting in line at Taco Bell I knew it was the one to write!! ~LOL~ See, I told you inspiration hits me in the damnedest places.  
  
- AUTHOR's NOTE -  
  
I'm also posting this on another site, so if the chapters over lap, I'm sorry. It takes a while, but The Man in black makes an eventual appearance!!  
  
Cheers!  
  
****  
  
Leigh Crawford was 'round the bend. Her boss had chewed her out royally for a mistake that wasn't hers, her clients had been calling and screaming at her for something she had no control over and to add insult to injury, her boyfriend of 2 years had dumped her in a voicemail while she was out to lunch. After she heard the message, she broke down in tears and ran out of the office. She had sat in her car for two hours behind a traffic jam caused by an overturned semi-tanker that had spilled gasoline all over the highway while pretty young things in newer, more expensive cars continually cut her off as she tried to change lanes and exit the highway to take the backroads.   
  
The only solace she found was the bottle of blackberry wine that waited for her in her fridge and the pack of smokes her now ex-boyfriend had left in her car. First order of business once she got home was getting comfortable - which meant getting out of the suit and into her pajamas. Slamming first her front door, then the bathroom door, Leigh proceeded to bawl her eyes out while sitting on the bathroom floor. She didn't want to look in the mirror, she knew what she'd see. A 28-year-old woman with no life except her work and a black cat named Nicodemus; a woman who was 6'0 tall, straight dark brown hair that fell to her waist, brown eyes, a nose ring that managed to piss her boss off every time she wore it to work, roughly 20 more pounds than she should be weighing and a tattoo across the small of her back, her 28th birthday gift to herself.  
  
"Suck it up girlfriend." she sighed. How long had she been on the floor of the bathroom? Long enough to make her back and legs ache, that was for sure. Leigh groaned and slowly stood up. Without even bothering to look in the mirror, she washed the make-up off and proceeded to walk through the small townhouse and strip down to nothing. On her way by the office, she stopped in mid-strip to turn on the computer system that sat on the desk. Continuing on to her bedroom, Nicodemus began twining himself in and out between her feet as she walked. More than once she stumbled over him.  
  
"Damn it, Nico! Quit that and let me get dressed! I'll feed you as soon as I can!" By the time the computer was fully booted and had run its virus scan, she was back and completely redressed in a pair of baggy knit pajama pants and a ratty old t-shirt that was so soft it felt like silk against her skin. Nicodemus was purring contentedly as he ate his food in the kitchen a few short feet from the second bedroom, which had been converted into her office away from the office.  
  
Leigh spent the remainder of the afternoon scanning through her emails, goblet of wine in hand. She didn't want to deal with the world outside of her little hole in the city. She picked up the DVD "The Mummy" and slid it into player on her computer. She hit 'play' and click by click she jacked up the volume until she couldn't hear the cars whizzing by on the highway behind her.  
  
After she was finished with her emails and IMs, she flipped her system over and fired up the new "TombRaider" computer game, "The Mummy" still running in the background. After a while, she became vaguely aware of the weather alarm blinking in the tray at the bottom of her monitor. Groaning again, she clicked the icon and watched as the box came up with the tickertape scrolling across the top of it warning the subscribers of a thunderstorm coming hard and fast.. "The following counties are under a severe thunderstorm warning until midnight tonight..." The ticker rattled off counties alphabetically until she saw hers.  
  
"Great. Another wonderful night of storms and no sleep. What else could go wrong?"  
  
As if to punctuate that thought, a horrific clap of thunder split the air and echoed in her brain. As quickly as she could, she saved what she'd been working on and then proceeded to shut down her programs. She turned towards the back window to see lightning strikes repeatedly hit the ground as if to compete with the booming of her television and movie. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, shut down already..." she urged the suddenly slow system. It had frozen in shut down mode and it wasn't responding to the old "three fingered salute" either. Cussing loudly, Leigh ducked down under the desk and reached for the plug. Just then another clap of thunder hit in time with a strike of lightning. Nicodemus wailed in protest and leapt onto her rear end, digging his claws into her backside. Leigh screeched in shock just as her hand closed over the plug. The lightening strike had hit the roof of her townhouse and electrified everything. When her fingers closed over the power plug, an arc of electricity jolted down her body at the same time it traveled up the power cord to the computer. In another scream, Leigh jerked her hand loose, whacking her head against the bottom of the desk.  
  
Blissful black followed her all the way down...  
  
**** 


	2. Good Morning Leigh

It was dark. That was the first thing she realized. It wasn't oppressive darkness, like nothing existed. She knew she was there, and she knew that she wasn't alone. Vaguely, she heard fuzzy voices around her. Had she fallen asleep somewhere along the corridor of the temple? Corridor... temple... she didn't start out in a temple corridor, did she? The voices were getting louder as something touched her shoulder.  
  
"Uskut..." she whispered. "Agab." Now she was confused. Since when did she speak Egyptian Arabic? Since when did she speak Arabic, period? It wasn't exactly something she learned in high school. Slowly she opened her eyes. Leigh winced at the sudden light held over her head.  
  
"Miss Crawford, are you alright?" The man's accent was definitely Egyptian. The face that Leigh focused on hovering over her was definitely middle-eastern, too. Elderly face deeply lined with wrinkles and full of concern. "Miss Crawford..."  
  
"Yes Hamid. I'm fine." Hamid? She knew this man?  
  
"You had us all worried Miss Crawford. You were creeping along the corridor and suddenly you disappeared. When we found you, you were unconscious. No, no! Don't sit up yet. Let me look at your forehead. You have quite the nasty gash here and there is blood everywhere. Did you stumble on a rock?" Hamid instructed the others with him to clear the path and set up lights further down the corridor.  
  
"I... I don't remember." Leigh sighed and let the older man gently clean out the cut on her forehead. At least know she knew why her head was throbbing. "When did I get here? Where is here?"  
  
Hamid looked at her like she was mad. "Surely you are joking with me, Miss Crawford. We are in Egypt, in the legendary Valley of the Kings. You led us here with the map that you found in London that pointed to the sister city of Hamunaptra, Hamunhora."  
  
London? Hamunaptra? Egypt? She furrowed her forehead and looked up at him. She found a map in London? "What.... what day is it?"  
  
Hamid's face took on a look of pity as he helped her sit up. Offering her a drink of water from his canteen, Hamid sighed. "It is May 1. Do you not remember anything?"  
  
"No, I wish I did. When did I start speaking Egyptian?" She rubbed the back of her neck gently and leaned against the stone wall of the corridor. She looked down at her clothing and blinked. She was in a pair of VERY short tight black shorts and a black tank top under a white cotton blouse that was tucked into her shorts. Her feet and lower legs were encased in a pair of what she could only describe as tactical boots that laced up to her knees. Further up her thighs were leather straps holding down holsters for two rather large and shiny Heckler and Koch USP.45 ACP Match model pistols belted around her hips. Since when did she dress like Lara Croft?? Gingerly she reached up and touched her nose... yup, the nose ring was still there...  
  
"You have always spoke Egyptian, Miss Crawford." Hamid was steadily getting more and more concerned. His friend and employer was beginning to scare him with her inability to remember what had just happened. "Your mother was Egyptian. It was she who taught you to speak it."  
  
"Right." Leigh sighed and looked at him. She knew that sort of look. He was thinking she was mad as a March hare. "Mother taught me to speak perfect Egyptian Arabic. And what are we doing here in this temple? I mean, I'm obviously dressed for it, and your crew of workers is here... I see my rucksack and there's tools in there for digging and brushes for cleaning away the dust and sand from the carvings. But this is... how much archaeological recovery are we REALLY here for?"  
  
Leigh stopped and stared wide-eyed. Everything she'd just said was completely NOT what she was feeling. Archaeology? She wasn't an archaeologist that she knew of... was she?  
  
"Perhaps, if you start walking again, and see the temple ruins, then you will remember more. We," Hamid stood and offered his hand down to her to stand up. "have already found the Preparation Chamber. You were leading us down towards the Altar Chamber."  
  
"Right. The statue is supposedly buried in the base of the altar itself."  
  
"That is the legend, Miss Crawford. You are not worried about the Curse?"  
  
"I don't believe in curses, Hamid. I believe in what I can see and touch. Curses don't scare me one whit." She brushed the sand off of her rear end before she took the torch from his hand and began walking. This was beginning to freak her out. The more and more she was awake, the more and more she apparently 'remembered'. But, she didn't really remember any of this. It was just coming out of her mouth like she SHOULD be remembering this. Maybe the blow to her head scrambled her noodle a bit and she was really remembering this stuff.  
  
"I think that we need to call it a day, come back tomorrow. Tell the boys to quit for now and we'll start at dawn tomorrow morning." Leigh patted Hamid's shoulder in a friendly manner, then turned around and headed back the way the entire party came. She was going to have to hurry if she wanted to make it out of there before she vomited all over the place.  
  
--  
  
Uskut = Be Quiet  
Agab = Please  
  
**** 


	3. Breakdown

Leigh Crawford sat on the edge of her cot with her head in her hands. Her eyes were squeezed closed and she was rocking back and forth in an effort to comfort herself. She was beginning to remember tiny bits and pieces before waking up in the tunnel with Hamid leaning over her. But she wasn't sure what was going on. She knew that she wasn't supposed to be here, she had a cat named Nicodemus and that a thunderstorm had something to do with it all. She knew that she wasn't dead, she was too panicked for that. Leigh was also crying. The more and more she began to remember, the more and more panicked she became.  
  
Hamid watched her quietly. For some reason she was having a breakdown. After she'd disappeared in the tunnel, everyone thought the Curse had claimed its latest victim. But when she was found, she was different. He couldn't put his finger on it. Hamid had known her since she was a child, her mother and father had befriended him on the first of their many expeditions into Egypt's past.  
  
"You need rest, Leigh." Hamid's voice was soft, more fatherly than before in front of the workers.  
  
Leigh's head turned in her hands and she looked at him desperately. "You... you called me Leigh. Before you called me Miss Crawford."  
  
"Yes. In front of the workers it is best that I remain your employee. But here, I am more protective of you. I watched you grow up, promised your parents that I would protect you."  
  
"Oh Hamid! I can't remember anything! One minute I was... then I wasn't... and then you were there!" She looked up as the older man stood in front of her. Her hands worked their way to grasp the front of his shirt tightly. The tears of panic were flowing down her cheeks. "I know I don't belong here! I shouldn't be here! Ohhhhhhhhhh! God what is happening to me? I hate the heat, I hate sand... bugs, I hate bugs! I have a cat, for god's sake! I miss my computer and my keyboard. Websites, I program Websites for a living and I rework pictures and graphics. I have a desk, with air conditioning and a closet full of badly fitting suits that I wear to work... Look, does THIS look like I should be here?" Leigh flicked the shiny silver ring in her left nostril before breaking down in sobs again.  
  
Hamid just shook his head. Perhaps the Curse wasn't death, but madness instead. "I was with you when you pierced your nose, Walad. I thought it strange at the time, but I realize it is just a mark of your individuality, the same as that tattoo on your back. Shhh, rest now. Perhaps in the morning things will be better for you."  
  
"Yes, perhaps. Sleep..." She laid back on the cot, curling into a ball on her side. Hamid turned the lantern light down as low as possible then turned to leave.  
  
Leigh lay there for a while, trying to force herself to sleep. Her hair was braided in one long braid and it wrapped over her neck as she lay there. Absently she toyed with it as she mumbled to herself. "It's just a dream. I'll go to sleep and when I wake up, I'll be back where I belong... I don't feel right, like this isn't my body..." Slowly her body began to obey her mind and she drifted off to sleep.  
  
--  
  
The dark figure sat atop his horse with others dressed like him flanking behind him. Slowly he sighed and shook his head. More diggers were here. He had thought that after the incident with the Creature that people would be scared off of breaking into tombs.  
  
A rider came galloping across the sand and reined in to a halt beside Ardeth.  
  
"They are at the entrance to the sister city of Hamunaptra. A woman leads them in their search through the ancient temple. I've seen her second in command before. The rest are just diggers and workers. It does not appear that they are after the Creature's resting place."  
  
Ardeth frowned. The party bore watching all the same, even if they did not seek the Creature. "Appearances are deceiving. We will continue to watch them for the time being, to ensure that they do not seek the Creature."  
  
--  
  
Walad = Child  
  
**** 


	4. Mixed Messages

The first indication she had that something wasn't right was that she was fully awake. And in the middle of nothingness. It was black all around her again, like when she'd woken up in that corridor of whatever tomb... temple... whatever...  
  
"Hello?"  
  
Nothing, not even an echo. It was like she was in limbo. She could see herself, and she could see in front of her, what there was to see.  
  
"HELLO?!" Leigh was beginning to get nervous again. In the span of a few hours her life had been turned upside down. Slowly she began walking straight ahead, as if that would help somehow. She kept looking around for signs of anyone else, anything else. She was still wearing Lara Croft's outfit of short tight shorts, hiking boots and a tight black tank top... She was willing to bet that if she looked in a mirror, she looked like Lara too... Even the two guns were there.  
  
"Oh this does not sound good..." The roaring of a train was sounding in her ears, but nothing was out there... All of a sudden two points of light struck her and began to grow brighter and towards her. Leigh paused and watched, her brown eyes growing wider and wider. The lights flashed and when the light subsided, she could see two walls of images racing towards her at lightening speed. The wind picked up, blowing the wisps of hair around her face back. The roaring grew deafening and her reaction was to throw her arms over her head and duck down to the ground.  
  
After a few minutes of what she could only describe as a cacophony of voices and sounds accompanied by a slight breeze, Leigh looked up hesitantly. It was brighter now, like in the electronics stores or department stores... On both side of her was two walls that stretched higher than she could see and each little square of it was a different image, like a multi-screen wall.  
  
Leigh wandered down the alley with her mouth open. These were people's lives she was seeing... millions and millions of people throughout the world. "Where's mine..." she wondered aloud...  
  
"Yours is crossed... you must make a choice..."  
  
"HUH? HEY!! Who are you?!" Leigh looked around for the disembodied voice. "At least show me what my choices are!!"  
  
One of the walls faded, the other one dimmed a bit, a portion of the wall itself floated down so she could see. It was a desert, daylight and looked straight out of a movie. With morbid fascination she watched as mysterious men on horseback galloped through the camp she'd been sleeping in. "This is a dream... I'm in my own dream... That's it!! NO MORE GARLIC before bedtime!"  
  
The scene kept moving, following the struggle. Vaguely she could hear the noises around her, as if she were in a surround sound theater. A man in black came thundering at her, his face concealed from view. His intentions looked evil, his eyes dark and foreboding... the scene slowed to half time and allowed Leigh to see his eyes... beautiful eyes... hesitantly she reached out to touch them through the screen...  
  
The next thing Leigh knew, time had sped back up to normal and she was IN the middle of the scene she'd watched. Something stirred in her and she was going to have NONE of this bullshit. In a single motion, she had both of her guns in hand and started firing at the riders as they raced through the camp.  
  
A war cry behind her startled her and caused her to turn around. Racing at her was another horse and rider, scimitar raised high in attack. Leigh took off at a run, still firing both guns in rapid fire. She leapt and twisted in mid-air, landing on her back and taking aim at the rider who had been bearing down on her. He jerked twice where she'd hit him in the chest and fell off of his horse. Another was bearing down on where she was laying, a different one. Rolling to the side, she pulled her legs up out of the horse's path and flipped over onto her back. She took off at a run again, this time for Hamid and the rest of the workers who were behind a stack of crating material marked for Cairo. As she did, she ejected both clips from the guns and reloaded from the spares on her waist.  
  
"MISS CRAWFORD!! Look out!!"  
  
Leigh turned just in time, both guns in hand and ready to rock, to see a black horse bearing down on her, the rider leaning off to the side as if to snatch her up off of her feet.  
  
"Like hell.." she snarled and drew both guns up to aim at his chest. But before she could squeeze the triggers, she felt the breath knocked out of her chest and landed face down across the saddle.  
  
**** 


	5. Deadly Warnings

Leigh screeched in indignation. "PUT ME DOWN YOU SONOFABITCH!!" She kicked and struggled and tried to get her hands free enough to push herself off of the horse. A sharp crack across her rump brought her struggles to a temporary halt.  
  
"Be still imra'a! If you don't you will injure yourself."  
  
"I have a name you jackass and it's Leigh, not woman!" She hissed and managed to twist her hand around to point the gun still clenched in her hand right in his groin. "Stop this beast or I swear to god there will be no more little bedouins coming from you ever again!"  
  
"Allah!!" he hissed in return and jerked back on the reins hard enough to cause the horse to rear up on it's hind legs. In the process both of them were unsaddled and fell to the ground - she on top of him. Not too far behind them she could hear the shots and voices of the camp still under raid.  
  
Both of them lay there, dazed and trying to come to. Leigh couldn't help but notice just how delightful his body felt under her. He seemed to fit against her own body like it was made to fit her. She put her hands down on the ground on either side of his head and pushed up, putting a breath of space between them. Looking down at him, she wondered what he looked like behind that cloth that covered his face. Ardeth too felt her body pressing down on his. Her curves felt delicious against his body and she felt just right shifting against him. Briefly he visualized what she would feel like naked and writhing against him. However, he refused to let the vivid imaginations of what the Harami felt like cloud his duty. He blinked and started to realize where he was, but Leigh was quicker to come around. When she saw where she was, she scrambled up to her feet and backed up, both guns coming up level to his chest.  
  
"You... are going to forget you ever met me. I'm going to tell you once and once only to call your tribesmen off or I'll kill you where you stand." To emphasize her point, she thumbed the hammers back on both of her guns.  
  
"I will die then, for it is in my duty to our sacred vow that you will kill me." His eyes locked onto hers, daring her, an imra'a, a woman, to pull the trigger and kill him.  
  
He didn't believe she'd do it? Leigh's eyes narrowed a bit and her grip on the guns tightened. If he thought she wouldn't simply because she was a woman, then he had another thing coming. "What sacred duty?"  
  
Her question wasn't what he'd expected. Slowly he stood up and held his hands for her to see that they were clear of weapons. "To protect the resting place of He Who Shall Not Be Named, a Creature from the depths of Hell."  
  
Leigh blinked. She'd heard that somewhere before, but where she couldn't place it. "Uh huh. And you expect me to believe this hokum?"  
  
"Whether you believe it or not is none of my concern, but the danger is real to you and the rest of the world. It was averted once before and my people and I would prefer to keep it that way."  
  
"Then why attack us? We are not after this creature..."  
  
"You seek that which should remain buried for all time. You are turbe Harami, a raider of tombs. I have seen your kind before and they bring nothing but trouble. We have been watching you and your workers for days now. This morning it was our intention to give you warning, to scare you away from the cities of Hamunhora and Hamunaptra."  
  
"And if we don't scare easily?" She really was beginning to dislike this man. Who the hell was he to tell her what to do? At the same time, she had the overwhelming urge to rip the cloth from his face and see what he looked like. If he looked anything like his body felt... Leigh shook her head and glared at him. Damn it!  
  
"Then we will come again and make sure that you leave... or die."  
  
Both of Leigh's eyebrows raised at that statement. "You and your people would kill us, just to keep this place a secret?"  
  
"We would kill you and your people without a regret to keep the Creature from rising again."  
  
"And if I promised not to resurrect any creatures from the grave?"  
  
"You could do it without even realizing what you've done.  
  
"Then we have a problem. I'm here for a reason and I am not one to be scared off easily. If my workers decide to hike back to Cairo on their own, then so be it, I won't stop them. But I AM going into that damned temple, I AM going to find what it is I'm after and I WILL not let someone like you deter me."  
  
"You leave me choice then, Harami." A second rider galloped by with Ardeth's horse. In a fluid jump, he swung up into the saddle and wheeled the horse around to fix Leigh with a deathly stare. "We will stop you at all costs."  
  
As he spurred his horse off to join the others as they left her camp in tatters, Leigh sighed and holstered her two guns. Blowing a wisp of bangs out of her eyes, she muttered "Right."  
  
--  
  
imra'a = woman  
turbe = tomb  
Harami = thief  
  
**** 


	6. Strange Ways

Leigh was less than amused. In the raid, much of their supplies were totaled and some of the equipment was lost. Out of frustration, she kicked a crate as hard as she could, sending it tumbling across the sand to Hamid's feet.  
  
"Those that want to may go back to Cairo."  
  
Hamid looked up at her. "You are sure Miss Crawford?"  
  
She gave him a sharp look for questioning her. "Yes. The raiders made it very clear that if we did not leave, they would come back again and again and again until we are either dead or we leave. I will not subject these people to that. If they want to go back, they are welcome to. I am staying here. That statue is in there and I'm not going to let a man with an attitude stop me from getting it."  
  
Hamid nodded and called all the workers together as Leigh stalked off to her tent. After cutting loose a string of curses aimed at herself and the mysterious raider, she kicked her rucksack and flopped down onto the bed / cot. The sack tumbled over and out fell a box that was 4.5 in long by 3.25 in wide, silver in color with blue markings and a round dial in the middle. Vaguely Leigh heard the racket that came from it and she looked over at it.  
  
"Thank God..." she groused and rolled over to reach for it. Somehow, by some means of sanity, her MP3 Jukebox had found it's way to her. However, even as she slid the brushed silver cased ear buds into her ears and cranked up the volume, Leigh knew that she really shouldn't technically have this object here, in this reality. But she didn't care. ANY measure of comfort right now was worth it. After all, it wasn't every day you wake up in La-La Land and get snatched up by an arrogant ass that thinks he can dominate you. That only happens in the movies, right?  
  
She lay there on her back for a few hours, just drowning herself in her rock music while the workers who had decided to leave packed up their belongings and began making their way by horse back to Cairo. Hamid checked in on her a few times to make sure she was still there. Ever since that raider had scooped her up this morning, he'd been very careful not to leave her alone. The little silver and blue box on her stomach with the tiny ropes that disappeared into her ears were most curious to say the least. But, Leigh was Leigh and she was always full of surprises.  
  
Leaving her to her odd meditations, Hamid ordered the evening meal cooked up and put up rotating guards to pass the night. He did not want the raiders coming back while they all slept soundly.  
  
As Leigh zoned out to Godsmack and Puddle of Mudd, high above what remained of the little camp the Med-jai kept their watch and darkness fell around them again. Ardeth Bay in particular kept his vigil. Something about the woman leader stirred him. She was strong, the woman, the Harami Imra'a. Those eyes held such defiance when she told him that he was welcome to do what he thought was best but it wouldn't deter her. She surprised him by asking why they was doing this, instead of just shooting at him like the Americans did those short few years ago.  
  
He thought back to the incident with the Americans. Every now and again he thought of O'Connell and Evelyn. They were in London, a son born to them a year after they returned. He envied O'Connell that, having a son. Being who he was didn't give itself to producing Heirs to the Tribe.  
  
As he watched silently above the camp, Ardeth's mind betrayed his will and he thought back to how this woman felt against him when the horse had unsaddled them both. She was the right combination of soft curve and hard muscle. But with a gun aimed into his loins, it was very difficult to appreciate those curves.  
  
"Sayid!"  
  
The second in command of the small party came up to him.  
  
"I'm going down to have a small talk with this Harami. Perhaps I can convince her civilly to remove herself from this place."  
  
Sayid nodded as Ardeth nudged his horse towards the path that led down to the camp. Maybe his leader could prevail with civil words where a show of force had failed.  
  
--  
  
Harami = thief  
Imra'a = woman  
  
**** 


	7. Tenderly...

Leigh was bopping around her tent, volume cranked up and oblivious to the world outside of the fabric walls. She'd stripped off her boots and thick socks, her guns and belt lay on the cot. After eating the dinner that Hamid had brought to her, Leigh also had unbraided her hair and was becoming more and more relaxed. So relaxed enough, that she actually began to sing along with the music filling her head. She slid the MP3 Jukebox onto the waistband of her shorts and danced around the tent. What she didn't know was that with the lantern lit on the inside, her shadow was also dancing around the tent walls. Hamid had to repeatedly remind the remaining workers to not watch. A breeze had picked up its intensity and began whipping the flaps of the tent now and again.  
  
Leigh also had another audience in Ardeth. He had left his horse at the edge of the camp and walked in. No one stopped him, if anyone actually saw him they gave no sign. For most intents and purposes, the remaining workers had all gone to sleep for the night. It wasn't hard to determine which tent housed the woman, all he had to do was follow what sounded like singing. But it was like no singing he'd ever heard. It was different, mellower, and more sultry... like the desert at sunset in the spring. He paused at the backside of the tent when he saw the feminine figure illuminated on the tent wall. He could see the outline of her body, her hair loose and swaying in the breeze and with her motions. Despite his insistence to himself that he was just here to convince her and her workers to leave in the morning, Ardeth found himself watching the luscious movements of a woman who was unaware that she was being watched.   
  
Leigh had always liked this song. When she first heard it, she had swayed along the hallway in her home to the bluesy, jazzy beat. For the first time since she woke up in this version of hell, she felt more at ease. Enough so she let herself sing along with the song.  
  
"The air is cooling and the sun's going down  
The day's been grueling in this dusty old town  
My body's aching for what you do to me...  
  
Tenderly tenderly  
Tenderly tenderly..."  
  
Leigh unhooked the MP3 player and laid it on the cot next to her guns. She then unbuckled her shorts and slid the zipper down. Hooking her fingers over the waistband, she bent over as she pushed them down over her hips and thighs to her ankles. The shadow image of her on the tent wall spoke plainly what she was doing. Ardeth blinked a moment before he realized what she was doing - undressing. But he swallowed the growing lump in his throat, unable to look away as the rounded curve of her rear end and hips silhouetted scandalously on the fabric wall.  
  
Even as he saw the image, her voiced song infiltrated his brain and he felt himself moved by the melody and words themselves... it was a sensual song, meant to arouse the body as well as the soul. By now she'd gotten her shorts kicked off to the side and rearranged the earbuds so that she could now remove the tanktop. She didn't feel a bra on underneath the top, actually she couldn't remember if she ever wore one really... but she shrugged and crossed her arms, grasping the bottom hem. Slowly, as her hips swayed back and forth, she lifted the tanktop up over her head.   
  
"The words are easy when the language is love  
You know exactly what I'm thinking of  
My heart is hungry for what you do to me...  
  
Tenderly tenderly  
Tenderly tenderly..."  
  
Her hair cascaded down her back as it was freed from the tangle of her top. Ardeth's mouth dropped open at the shadow image he was seeing. She'd turned in removing her top and he could see the entire naked outline of her buttocks and breasts as she shook her hair. Vaguely her voice registered in his mind, her image registering elsewhere. Was she actually dancing...??  
  
Leigh's body had begun moving with a mind of it's own, like she was performing for a private audience. Little did she know that she actually was. Her body movements had taken on a bit more of an exotic flair, a more suggestive grind as she lost herself in the music. Ardeth's body was beginning to ache watching her move that way. What she was suggesting with her words and her body was something he'd not let himself experience in some time.   
  
"I've had lovers go up in flames!  
Been with others who've had no names...  
God I've waited patiently  
For someone who really touches me"  
  
Leigh's hands slid up her hips and thighs. Ardeth's blood was on fire and his eyes were hazed over as he watched her. Leigh let her hands glide over her waist and breasts, as if they were a lover's hands on her body. Involuntarily, Ardeth reached out towards her in an echo of her own hands' movement.  
  
"I feel your fingers and their touch is like fire  
Sensations linger then they turn to desire  
My body's aching for what you do to me  
  
Tenderly tenderly  
Tenderly tenderly..."  
  
Ardeth groaned. He was in a living hell. Right now, if she were to look at him and even lick her lips, he felt he'd loose what little control he was maintaining on his own overwhelming lust. He'd come here to talk to her, to reason with her and persuade her to leave this place. He hadn't counted on seeing such a display of abandonment. Gritting his teeth and steeling his will, he stepped closer to the tent and whispered, "Harami..."  
  
****  
  
- song titled "Tenderly" by Sherrie Austin, CD titled 'Words' 


	8. Leigh Meets Ardeth... Again

Leigh was still grooving to her music, oblivious to the goings on outside. Hamid saw the raider approach Leigh's tent with an odd expression on his face. When Hamid had seen the illuminated shadow of his employer's apparently naked body silhouetted against the walls of the tent, he put the pieces together. The raider was bent on kidnapping Leigh! With a cry of alarm, Hamid rushed at the tall and much younger man, catching him off guard with a right hook to his jaw.  
  
Leigh was reaching for a shirt when a black robed body stumbled back through the flaps of her tent and dropped onto his back. She whirled around, jerking the shirt up over her bare breasts to cover herself. Following the mass of black robes into the tent was Hamid - who quickly blushed and covered his eyes, stammering out apologies in Arabic.  
  
"It's alright Hamid. I'm covered for the most part." Leigh chuckled and popped the earbuds out of her ears as she kept one arm wrapped over her breasts with the shirt covering her as best as it could. At her feet was the man she'd faced down earlier that morning... without anything to cover his face this time. He was a handsome devil to say the least. "I'll deal with this myself. Shukran Hamid."  
  
Hamid nodded his head once and left, but remained not more than a few yards away in case she needed his help.  
  
Ardeth shook his head and looked up, not daring to move a bit until she let him. From his vantagepoint, he could see shadows underneath the shirt she was holding up over herself and her free hand reaching for the guns that were lying on the bed. Slowly he put both hands up to show that he was unarmed, his scimitar still in his belt at his waist.  
  
"Slowly get up please." Leigh's fingers curled around the grip of one of her pistols and she stepped back away from him.  
  
Ardeth nodded and rolled over, gliding fluidly to his feet while keeping his hands open for her to see. "I did not come to fight with you, Harami. I came to talk."  
  
"Talk? I see, is that what it's called when one sneaks into a sleeping camp after raiding it earlier that morning?" Her face held an ironic sense of humor to it.  
  
At least she hadn't shot him yet. His eyes followed the lines of her body down, then back up. He glanced at her hand, which held the gun. It wasn't lifted off the bed yet. That was a good sign, wasn't it?  
  
"Yes. I came to see if talking civilly to you would help. This morning was less than admirable circumstances for convincing you of the danger you are courting by digging into Hamunhora."  
  
Leigh sighed. Not this argument again. "You can talk all you like. I am going into the temple ruins, I am finding the Altar Chamber and I am retrieving that statue."  
  
"Imra'a, you are just as stubborn as the ones who came to Hamunaptra years ago and accidentally raised the Creature from it's tomb!" Ardeth was about to say more, but he found himself staring at the muzzle of her gun. Apparently calling her 'woman' was not the right move.  
  
"I have a name you jackass - USE IT!"  
  
"Then tell me again. When you last told me I was worried about other matters. Like your gun in my.."  
  
"Leigh. Leigh Crawford."  
  
"Miss Crawford then... You surely realize that you are invading hallowed grounds that are 1000's of years older than you or I?"  
  
"Of course. That's what I do." She lowered the gun from him and held it at her side. She felt the wind whistling through the tent causing the flaps to flutter. Vaguely she felt the shirt she was holding up to her fluttering around her hips also. Suddenly a thought occurred to her. "How long... how long were you outside the tent?!"  
  
Ardeth couldn't answer her. He felt his cheeks warm slightly at remembering the show she put on unawares of her surroundings. "You have a beautiful voice Miss Crawford."  
  
It was Leigh's turn to blush furiously. Her cheeks turned bright crimson and she wrapped her other arm around her as if to cover herself. "You... watched?"  
  
"How could I not?" Ardeth stepped towards her, then looked down and stepped back. Damn him, why did he feel like a young boy first feeling what lies between men and women? "Let me turn around Miss Crawford. That way you can dress and we can continue talking." Without waiting for her approval, he turned around and put his back to her to give her some privacy.  
  
Leigh blinked, then dropped her gun onto the cot. "I... Shukran. I appreciate this. Since you seem to be so hell-bent on protecting something I am not after, I have a proposition for you."  
  
Ardeth didn't turn around. She didn't sound like she was moving at all to dress. "What is that?"  
  
"Come into the ruins with us. That way you can keep a close eye on me and prevent me from doing anything you disagree with. You can also see that I am not after this Creature you keep harping on." She watched his body for signs of his answer. He was a proud man, bound to his duty and to his honor. It showed. He stood up straight and tall, shoulders squared as if to dare the world to challenge his authority. Leigh was strangely attracted to him. He was beautiful to look at, that was no lie. With a soft sigh, she shook her head to clear her thoughts. What the hell was she thinking?  
  
Ardeth was about to answer her proposition when he heard her sigh. Against his better judgement, he looked back over his shoulder at her. She still had the shirt held up against her, the gun out of her hand and on the bed. "You have not dressed."  
  
"No, I haven't. I was waiting for your answer."  
  
"Yes. I and a few of my people will accompany you and your workers into the ruins."  
  
--  
  
Harami = thief  
imra'a = woman  
Shukran = thank you  
  
**** 


	9. Playing With Fire

Leigh looked at him. He was actually being reasonable? "What is your name?"  
  
Ardeth blinked and turned completely around. "Ardeth Bay.. of the Med-jai."  
  
"Med.... Med-jai?" Leigh blinked a few times. "What the hell is that?"  
  
"WE, are an ancient people who are sworn at manhood to protect the tomb of He Who Shall Be Be Named. Over 3000 years ago the Creature was buried after suffering a horrible curse with the prophecy that if ever resurrected, he will be a walking plague upon mankind."  
  
"Whoa. Rough road. Sucks to be you I guess." Leigh turned around and started to reach down for her rucksack...  
  
Ardeth bit down on his tongue when she turned around. She was right. It was a rough life that he and he people led, but it was something they just accepted as part of their lives - like the sun rising and setting. The sight of her exposed rear end elicited a soft groan from him and he closed his eyes tight. He didn't need to be seeing her naked right now. That point was emphasized by the painful tightening in his groin right then.  
  
Leigh had heard his groan and looked back over her shoulder. He had his eyes squeezed shut like he was in pain. "Ardeth? Are you alright?"  
  
"No." was all he said.  
  
"What's wrong?" She stood up and walked back over to him. While she did, she took advantage of his closed eyes to get a good look at him. He was a few inches taller than she was and she could smell the salty tang of sweat mixed with horse, leather and something spicy. How delicious he smelled. Her heart thudded in her chest as she inhaled that sexy mix of scents on him.  
  
Ardeth opened his eyes to find Leigh close enough to touch. Instinctively his hands came up to her elbows and his fingertips stroked up her upper arms. For all the hard muscle he could feel under the skin, she was so soft... But with a growl, he dropped his hands and stepped back from her. "You should dress yourself." His voice held such an air of anger that he wanted to pull back the words.  
  
Leigh first felt like she'd been stung by a scorpion when he touched her... then she felt like she'd been slapped across the face when he growled at her to get dressed. "Make me." she hissed in return and dropped the shirt she'd been covering herself with. Leigh could feel the wind lifting tendrils of her hair as it whistled through the tied flaps of her tent. Her eyes dared him to look at her.  
  
Ardeth had to clench his jaw to keep from dropping it in shock. It took all of his willpower and then some to keep from grabbing her by the waist and dropping her underneath him on her bed. She had courage to say the least. She was also playing with fire. He bent down slowly, his eyes locked on hers as his fingers curled around the shirt she had flung to the ground. Just as slowly he stood up and closed the short space between them. As he neared to an inch or so between them, he could feel her breath quicken as she tilted her head up to stare defiantly at him. His blood quickened in return and he could feel himself rising despite his will. "You should not tempt what you are not ready for." he whispered as he reached around her. Ardeth settled the shirt over her shoulders and then stepped back.  
  
As Leigh tried to keep from hyperventilating, she absently reached up and pulled the shirt closer over her shoulders. Being that near to him and being that naked just left her wide open to any sort of assault from him - not that she would have minded it one damned whit. She watched him look back as he stepped outside of her tent and let his eyes slide down over her body one last time. Leigh felt her breath catch in her throat as his eyes held hers for a moment. Such an intensity behind those dark eyes. She found herself wondering 'what would happen...'  
  
**** 


	10. Choices To Be Made

Leigh tossed and turned in bed. Ever since Ardeth had left her tent, she'd been shaky and uneven. Even her dreams centered on him. Vivid images of her and him naked and entwined in the dance of lovers, bathing each other in a spring-fed pool, the touch of his fingers on her skin. Eventually they subsided in the deepest part of the morning, a few hours before dawn. Leigh settled down too, into a deeper sleep. Her tossing and turning stilled as she began to dream.  
  
She was in the black void of nothingness again, but she was wide-awake and she could see everything around her.  
  
"Right. Here I am... again. What's it going to be this time, hmm? More bright lights and video screens?"  
  
Leigh looked around at the still void. "I'm not impressed with this you know. I'd rather be back home."  
  
Still no reply came to her. But she could see the blackness fade into shades of gray that seemed to swirl and seethe. "Impressive." was all she said. Leigh decided to stand her ground and wait. She shifted her posture and crossed her arms over her chest. She was dressed again, this time in a pair of black cargo pants and another black tank top. Her guns were missing this time and her boots were ankle boots this time.  
  
"You know, I'm dying to find out why the hell I look, dress and act like Lara fucking Croft. I mean, it's nice and all, to have a set of balls and take on the world. But I rather like NOT being shot at from time to time..."  
  
"You must make a choice..." the voice finally whispered. The whisper echoed all around her, making it seem like a million voices were speaking instead of one.  
  
"Ohhh we're back to making a choice are we? Well then, what is the choice? I mean, come on. I can't make a choice if I don't know the options."  
  
"A choice... Between here and there..."  
  
"Oooooooooookay... now we're getting somewhere. But that begs the question - WHERE is here, and WHERE is there?" She sat down on a chair that popped up out of nowhere. Not once did she blink over it or even wonder where it came from. It was just there.  
  
"Here... and there. I cannot lead you to your choice. You must make it."  
  
"You're giving me a headache, you know that? Will I at least know when I have my options to choose?"  
  
"You already have them. You just don't know what you want. When you know, the choice will be made without thinking."  
  
"Hold your horses Bubba! What the hell do you mean? When I know, the choice will be made? You know, this is going on being asinine. I kinda like to weigh my options, think things out."  
  
"Don't think, just feel. Follow your instincts."  
  
"Right. Follow my instincts." Leigh curled up in the chair. "Do I at least get to know who you are? I mean, you're giving me a choice that's going to determine how my life turns out then at least give me the courtesy of knowing who the hell is fucking with my life as I know it."  
  
Stillness answered her request.  
  
"Great... just great. Way to go Leigh, piss off the being in charge. EEEEP!!" Leigh shrieked and tossed whatever it was that landed on her lap off of her lap and jumped up. For a minute or two she tried to regain her breath and get her heart beating again. A soft rumbling purr at her feet finally drew her attention and she looked down.  
  
"Nicodemus?"  
  
Nicodemus looked up at her as he sat back on his haunches. "You were expecting The Wizard Of Oz maybe?"  
  
**** 


	11. Don't Get Stupid

Leigh shot up in her bed. It was bright light outside and she could hear voices. Taking a few deep breaths, she regained her calm composure and began to laugh at herself. "Really Leigh, talking cats and what not. You're off your rocker." She still was chuckling as she slid off the bed and began to dress herself. She chose the black cargo pants and a tight sea green tank top that molded to her body like a second skin. She laced up her boots and buckled her gun belt around her waist before she picked up the small band of elastic and slipped it over her hand to rest on her wrist. As she exited her tent, her hands lifted into her hair and she began braiding it all back into a tight french braid. By the time she reached where Hamid stood gawking up at the riders on the ridge over the camp, she had her hair half braided and was humming softly to herself.  
  
"Sabah il-khair Hamid!" she chirped.  
  
"You slept well then?"  
  
"Well, yes. Hamid what -" Leigh looked up from where her fingers were twined into her braid and saw what he was preoccupied with. "Right. They're coming with us today." Leigh tied off the last few inches of her braid and tossed it back over her shoulder. She lifted her hand and gave a short wave of greetings. When an answer was given, she turned around and started walking back towards her tent.  
  
"WHAT? They are coming with us?" Hamid sputtered and hurried after her. "Did you forget what they tried to do yesterday?"  
  
Leigh stopped and turned around with a 'please give me a reason to scream bloody murder' expression on her face. "Yes, Hamid. I remember. But that is what Ardeth came to speak to me about last night when you found him peeping. He came to try to talk to me about staying away from some cursed creature. I suggested that if he was so hell bent on keeping that thing - whatever it is - out of my hands, then the best thing for him to do was to come with us. It lets him see that we are not going to raise this creature from the dead and it also gets them off of our asses with their raids. Trust me." Leigh winked, patted Hamid's shoulder and sauntered off to her tent to pick up her rucksack.  
  
Ardeth watched her closely. He had not slept much that night at all. Tossing and turning was rather uncomfortable in his physical distress. So when he woke up, he was surly and foul tempered. Even Sayid had stayed clear of Ardeth this morning. It had to be the fault of the imra'a he guessed. If he only knew how right he was.  
  
As they sat on the ridge earlier waiting for Leigh to emerge and welcome them into the camp, Ardeth kept drifting off into daydreams of her naked body from the night before. More than once he snapped out of it, shaking his head sharply with a sigh. If he wasn't careful and kept control over himself, he would be useless to his people.  
  
At Leigh's wave, Ardeth responded and turned his horse towards the path down into the camp. They arrived right as she was re-emerging from her tent with her rucksack in hand.  
  
"Sabah il-khair!" she waved as the riders reined in next to her tent. A few of the men with Ardeth answered her greeting as they dismounted. Ardeth remained sullen and snappish as he got down from his horse.  
  
"Well, good morning to you too Ardeth." Leigh shot at him as she sauntered by him towards Hamid. If he was going to be nasty her all day, then she'd give it right back to him. She was doing him a favor in letting him and his friends tag along into the ruins and there was no reason for him to be ill mannered about it.  
  
Ardeth blinked. What'd he do now? His eyes were drawn to the mesmerizing sway if her hips as she walked away from him towards the old man who was watching them all like a hawk.  
  
"We're almost into the Altar Chamber." Leigh said out loud. She turned around and smiled brightly, switching from English to Arabic for the benefit of the people with Ardeth and the remaining workers with her. "Watch your step, the Priests were sneaky and paranoid people. This was a house of worship, Sacred Ground. They were thinking ahead to protecting this place from future thieves." She fixed an ironic glance at Ardeth when she said that, then winked and kept on. "If you see something that looks out of place, don't touch it or go near it. There are scarab skeletons in there, I've seen them. DO NOT touch them at all. Some of them might well contain live scarabs. These babies hurt like the bite of hell. Follow me, keep in either pairs or small groups and whatever you do, Do Not... I repeat, Do NOT go wandering off alone. I'd hate to have to tell your families that you go stupid and wound up dead." Leigh chuckled and turned around, swinging the rucksack onto her shoulders and cinching up the straps.  
  
--  
  
Sabah il-khair = Good Morning  
  
**** 


	12. Reality Check

Ardeth stuck like glue to Leigh. She might put on the show that she was in charge, but she was still a woman. She was also someone who attracted trouble in droves. He also just needed to stick by her, to be near her. There was a protective urge within him that he couldn't explain. Every now and then the passage narrowed enough that they either had to go single file or wind up pressed together scandalously. The first time this happened, they had an argument right in the corridor.  
  
"I don't give a damn what you think! This is MY expedition, this is MY game and I am calling the shots!"  
  
"Oh really?! And what if danger lies just beyond your sight? What then? I'm better prepared to face down -"  
  
"You arrogant, self-serving son of a bitch! You think that just because I'm a woman I can't take care of myself?! Ohh I ought to belt you one for that. Try and keep your dress out of my way."   
  
Leigh scowled at Ardeth and pushed past him, hand reaching for one of her pistols as she twisted sideways and slid through the narrow opening. They all waited breathlessly for a few minutes until Leigh stuck her head back out with a wink at Hamid. "All clear, come on Ladies."  
  
She laughed and pulled her head back, taking the torch from Hamid and going on ahead of the party. As she did, she sang to herself, a light little singsong voice. Any port in a storm to keep her mind off of the very sexy, very handsome, very irritated Ardeth Bay behind her.  
  
Ardeth, however, was wishing that everyone else would just go away and leave him alone with Miss Leigh Crawford. Every time the passage narrowed and they had a silent war of wills, Ardeth clamped his mouth shut and let her take the lead through. He knew that if he didn't, he would get no peace out of her the rest of the day. Both of them were so intent on showing the other up that neither of them noticed the carving over the archway they passed through until a startled whisper ran through the workers behind them.  
  
"Hai'yi... HAI'YI!"  
  
Ardeth and Leigh turned around at the same time. The torch was in her right hand and her left reflexively covered the pistol on her hip.  
  
"What's the problem?"  
  
"It is the doorway, Miss Crawford!" Two or three of the workers were trembling. "The Serpent guards this temple!"  
  
"Right." she said. "Al Hai'yi you say? Hmm..." Leigh backed up and looked up at the carving that coiled itself above the stone archway.  
  
"Apophis*." Ardeth groaned and put his hand on Leigh's shoulder. "It might be best of you do not go into the temple any further. Apophis is not to be tangled with Leigh."  
  
"So, it's 'Leigh' now, is it?" Leigh chuckled and shrugged off his hand. "I've come this far and not going home without that statue!"  
  
"Apophis is a Chaos Dragon! Think of your Satan and you have Apophis. I will not let you go any further. A far greater evil rests in there than I thought you were after."  
  
"I know who and what Apophis is, Ardeth. Why are you so suddenly protective of me? It's not like we're going to be married, right?" She turned and took a step towards the way they'd headed.  
  
Ardeth grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back. "It's not you I'm protecting, but the rest of the world. Can't you think about ANYTHING but yourself for once Imra'a?!"  
  
Leigh had half hoped he was truly trying to protect her. But when his words fell on her ears, she felt like she'd been slapped brutally. The hurt shone in her eyes long enough for Ardeth to see before she masked it.  
  
"Right." she said, her voice finding steel to cover the tremble. Who the hell was she kidding to think he'd try to protect her at all? "We've had this discussion before Ardeth. I'm a big girl." With that, she jerked her arm from his grip and moved beyond his reach before he could stop her.  
  
--  
  
Imra'a = woman  
Hai'yi = snake  
* Apophis - http://www.igolddragon.com/egypt.htm  
  
**** 


	13. I Found It!!

AUTHOR's NOTE: I know that in the last part I made reference to Apophis and provided a link. To fend off any questions about him and what he's doing in this story - I needed a villain, a bad guy. ~L~ Who is badder than the Egyptian equivalent of The Devil? I want to re-state what the information provided in the link I gave you says - APOPHIS WAS NEVER WORSHIPPED IN ANCIENT EGYPT. He was reviled and it was prayed that he would meet his demise at Ra's hand. Creative license being mine here, I took the concept and expanded in the interest of fantasy fiction. PLEASE don't shoot me or come after me because it's not historically or theologically correct.  
  
--  
  
Leigh pushed on ahead, hot tears prickling her eyes. She was half running through the corridor, and not paying attention to her surroundings. If he wanted to believe that she couldn't handle what she was after then fine, she'd do it without him. The Altar Chamber should be just ahead.  
  
Ardeth was having a difficult time in keeping up with her. His only saving grace was that she had the torch in hand and he could follow the glow in the darkness.  
  
After Leigh had run from him, he told Sayid to take the rest of the expedition back outside the tomb and he'd retrieve Miss Crawford. Sayid had seen the two of them together and had to hide the knowing smile. He knew his leader well enough to know guilt when he saw it. But, he nodded and turned to tell everyone else to go back. The workers gave Sayid little argument, if any at all. Ardeth smiled and turned to go after Leigh.  
  
Neither of them had noticed the warnings on the walls surrounding them. Neither did they notice the increasing louder hissing noises that seemed to be coming from behind the walls of the temple.  
  
"LEIGH!" Ardeth shouted. The glow had disappeared from sight completely. He stopped and listened, hoping to catch the sound of her movements. All he heard was the sound of his own barely labored breathing and what sounded like hissing. Slowly he looked around to see where the hissing might be coming from. When he was satisfied that there were no snakes around him, he cautiously edge onward.  
  
After a few more minutes, he saw a brighter glow coming from up ahead. It was brighter than a torchlight and the more he walked, the brighter it became. As he walked, the louder the hissing got. Every now and then, he swore he could hear movement behind the walls of the temple. Ardeth picked up his pace, breaking out into a slight run. That little splinter of dread had lodged itself into the back of his neck and he couldn't shake it at all.  
  
Leigh was standing in the middle of the round cavernous room. She had lighted the torches circling the room when she had entered. She was incredibly surprised to find that they were still viable instead of dried out and unusable. On the section of wall directly behind the flat, stone altar was a painted mural of Apophis attempting to devour Ra, the sun god, as he journeyed on the Atett Boat* through Amenta, the Underworld. Leigh's dark brown eyes followed the painting curiously. Ardeth came around the corner to see Leigh, standing there in front of the mural behind the Altar. He closed his eyes and whispered a prayer to Allah before walking in. As he did, he heard Leigh's voice again.  
  
"He is the destroyer serpent, the serpent of evil... He is the great primordial serpent who lives in the waters of the Nun* and is the serpent of chaos and destruction. In an earlier form, he was also in charge of thunderstorms, lightning and whirlwinds. When he succeeds in swallowing the Boat of the Sun, it is seen as an eclipse."  
  
"Aiwa" Ardeth whispered. Leigh turned around to look at him.  
  
"Do you know what will happen to Apophis when Ra defeats him?"  
  
"No, but I think you're about to tell me."  
  
Leigh winked and turned around. She followed the altar around, walking along the wall until finally she put her hand against the stone. She giggled and looked back while stepping towards the wall. After that step, she disappeared into the wall.  
  
Ardeth gasped in shock. She just disappeared out of nowhere. He was about to start after her when he heard her giggle softly.  
  
"It's an illusion, Ardeth. There is a secret chamber back here camouflaged so that unless you are right on it, you cannot see it."  
  
"What is back there?"  
  
Leigh giggled again, then began reading the hieroglyphs on the wall. "He will first be speared, then sliced with red-hot knives so that every bone of his body has been separated, his head, legs and tail will then be cut off. His remains will be scorched, singed, and roasted, and finally he will be consumed by fire." She shuddered and poked her head out. "Those Ancient Egyptians, what a party crowd, eh?"  
  
Ardeth stared at her like she was a raving loon as Leigh started laughing and half-fell, half stumbled out of the secret chamber. He came over to her and helped her up from where she was still laughing almost hysterically. "Leigh, I have to get you out of here. This is not a good place."  
  
"Ohhh, but it is." she purred and put her hands on his chest. When he had reached down to pick her up, he inadvertently pressed her against the wall. He was pressed up against her sinfully. The thought caused her to giggle softly as she toyed with the errant curls of his hair against his neck. "This is not a temple to Apophis... this is a temple of Amun-Ra." Her voice lowered into a whisper. Even over the hissing, he could still hear her voice. "It was just defiled by those who followed Apophis."  
  
"If that is so, then why is there hissing in the walls?"  
  
"Because this chamber sits over a pit of vipers." She looked off to the left, towards a part of the chamber that Ardeth had not seen yet. There, the floor seemed to drop away. He let her go long enough to edge over and look down. True to her statement, beneath his feet was a massive pit writhing and seething with the glistening skin of possibly millions of snakes.  
  
Even as Ardeth tried not to turn several shades of green at the sight of so many snakes, Leigh's attention was grabbed by something else.  
  
"Ohhhhhhh...." she whispered. Ardeth turned around to see her face light up and her lips moving in a soft whisper.  
  
"Love will draw us in, to take our fear away, wipe our tears away... I found it, I found it!"  
  
--  
  
Aiwa = yes  
*Nun = Celestial Nile, Milky Way  
*Atett Boat = Boat of The Sun  
  
**** 


	14. He Wouldn't Dare!!

AUTHOR's NOTE - Again, I'm taking creative license. There was a Priesthood of Ra in ancient times. I have not done great digging to see if they still exist to this day, but I'm sure they do. I mean, if the Cult of Isis and the Cult of Anubis are STILL in existence to this day, then the Priesthood of Ra is has to still be in existence. ~L~ Also, being as I stated clearly in my last AN that Apophis was not worshipped but instead loathed, reviled and cursed to demise at Ra's hand - I ask you to just go with the flow of the story and enjoy!!  
  
Also a shout out to Deana and Dreamscape for their continual reviews!! I love it! I'm amazed that everyone seems to be getting behind this tale and Leigh herself. Don't worry, a payoff is coming for all you paitence... Keep reading and reviewing!!  
  
THANK YOU!!  
  
--  
  
Ardeth knelt down next to Leigh, whose face was like a little child with a new toy. There, beneath the heavy slab that made up the altar, was a broken piece of the stone tile floor. Underneath it, glittering in the bright torchlight, was something golden.  
  
"This is why the followers of Apophis claimed this temple and defiled it. Everything they did, they did in the search for this icon." She reached down and pulled the broken pieces of stone away carefully.   
  
Now fully revealed in the hidden compartment was a golden statue of a man with the head of a hawk crowned with a solar disk and uraeus that stood the helm of a boat with a spear in hand. Beneath the boat a great serpent rose out to strike at the man.  
  
"Amun Ra."  
  
"Amen, bubba. And that," Leigh whispered, pointing to the serpent, "is Apophis. This is of great value to the Priesthood of Ra, and to those still hanging on to the Cult of Apophis."  
  
"How so?"  
  
"Don't you see what's around you and have you not heard a word I've said!" Leigh could have smacked him. "The main goal of Apophis' existence was to devour and / or destroy Ra! THIS icon depicts Apophis' demise. If the Cult of Apophis were to get their hands on it, then they could destroy it and prove to the rest of the world that Apophis is stronger than Ra."  
  
"And that would lead me to ask you why YOU are after this statue." Ardeth fixed her with a pointed stare.  
  
Leigh smiled and looked around for something. Ardeth waited not so patiently for an answer as she did. The sound of hissing was getting more and more agitated, as if the owners of the hisses were communicating to each other. Finally Leigh looked at Ardeth, flicked a glance up to his wrapped silk turban and reached up for it.  
  
Ardeth jerked his head back, but not before Leigh snatched the turban off of his head and snapped it sharply over both their heads. The motion caused the wrapped silk to come unwrapped and flutter to the ground in one long length of fabric.  
  
"What...?"  
  
"You cannot touch it with your bare hands." Ardeth made some noise like 'oh' as she wrapped one end of the silk around her hands and reached down for the statue. Gently she grasped it by the man's body and lifted it out. Setting it on the altar, she got down to eye level with it and gave it a thorough once over.  
  
"You have not answered my question."  
  
"My mother's brother was a High Priest of Amun Ra." She looked at him, then turned back to wrap the statue carefully so that not one single speck of gold shone through to be touched. "The legend has it that this statue IS Apophis imprisoned by Amun Ra. Ra chose this shape to eternally remind Apophis that Ra was the victor in their struggle. Legend also has it that if human hands touch it, Apophis will return to the mortal world. Upon such time, the Seven Plagues of Egypt will seem like a cakewalk." Leigh slid her rucksack off and tucked the statue away safely.  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Are you always this articulate?" Leigh laughed and slid the sack back onto her shoulders. "For someone who is a Guardian of Eternally Damned corpses, you sure don't know much about your mythos."  
  
"I took a vow to protect the tombs of ancient Egypt, not to study the endless variety of myths and legends associated with them. NOW..." he came around the altar and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Are you finally ready to get out of this place or am I going to have to pick you up and carry you out of here?"  
  
"You. Wouldn't. Dare!"  
  
**** 


	15. Guilt and Sore Bums

Leigh sat cross-legged in her tent later that evening. She was back into a pair of beige shorts and a thin white cotton tank top. It was surprisingly cooler than the night before and the wind was a gentle breeze as opposed to the gale force windgusts it was the night before. She had spread out a small carpet to sit on and meditate for an hour or so... along with the softest pillow she could find. After suffering the humiliation of being hefted over Ardeth's shoulder like a sack of potatoes and carried out of the temple ruins earlier, she'd hid in her tent. Of course, if she'd not dared him to do it, then screamed like a banshee all the way down the corridors, things might not have been so horrible. He'd even gone so far as to... spank her.  
  
If she'd not kicked him in the shin when he set her down once outside, then she'd have gotten away without a remark. But she was so indignant that he'd dared to pick her up in a fireman's carry like she was a helpless woman, that she didn't realize he still had hold of her forearm. Leigh had hauled off and kicked Ardeth's shin hard enough that she'd hurt her own foot. If he felt the pain, he didn't let it show. Instead, his face took on a thunderous glare and without a second thought - right there in front of Hamid and the men who were working for her - he yanked her down across his lap as he dropped onto a nearby rock and proceeded to spank her soundly. When he was done, he shoved her off of his lap and stalked off, leaving a very embarrassed and red-faced Leigh in the sand and wincing in pain as she tried to stand up.  
  
If being publicly spanked wasn't bad enough, the laughter of the workers just made her feel about two inches tall. These were people SHE was paying to be there. She had to maintain that air of domination over them. Now they had seen her publicly humiliated by a man... Unknown to Leigh, tears slid down her cheeks as she meditated in her tent. Hamid had had to help her to her tent. She'd hurt her foot bad enough in kicking Ardeth that she couldn't put any pressure on it. Also, her rear end was tingling and sore enough that even standing hurt. Damn, did that man use a rock or something else to spank her?  
  
Ardeth was in his own tent, fuming at himself mostly. Spanking her was a reaction that he now regretted. He'd vaguely heard the laughter coming from the workers under her employ as he stomped off to find something to put on his shin where she'd kicked him. Damned little hellion had one mighty kick behind those odd looking boots of hers. He'd undermined her authority over them and now it would be near impossible for her to regain that control.  
  
"Ardeth...?" Sayid poked his head into the tent.  
  
"What is it Sayid?" Ardeth looked up from the compress that had been put on the swelling knot of Leigh's kick. At first the healer had thought it a horse kick until he saw the look on Ardeth's face. After that, there was silence behind the cheese-eating grin on the old man's face.  
  
"Can you walk? You need to see this." Sayid held open the tent flaps to Ardeth as he stood up. Several more of the workers' tents were gone. Only a handful remained.  
  
"They've abandoned her."  
  
"Yes. The common men will not work for a woman who..." Sayid trailed off when he saw the look of guilt on his leader's face. He knew that Ardeth hadn't meant for that to happen.  
  
"Does she have enough workers to help her with what she needs done?"  
  
"This I do not know. But Miss Crawford does not know of their departure either. What I wanted to show you more than the workers' departures is Miss Crawford herself." Sayid beckoned Ardeth over to her tent.  
  
Ardeth followed quietly behind him, limping now and again with the throb in his shin. Sayid held a finger to his lips to be silent. Carefully, he listened, then reached down and pulled the tent flap apart just enough for Ardeth to see.  
  
There sat Leigh, cross-legged Hindu style with those strange tiny ropes coming out of her ears again. But her back was to them as she sat on a prayer rug in the middle of her tent floor. Ardeth looked at Sayid in confusion. Sayid pointed to Leigh again and whispered to look at her back. Ardeth did and gasped. There between the bottom edge of her top and the waist of her short pants was a rainbow of color. Ardeth saw blue, yellow, red, purple, orange, black and green all forming an into an ancient design on her skin.  
  
Sayid led Ardeth away from the tent so they could talk. "Where does she come from that she bears such colorful markings?"  
  
"I do not know Sayid. But she is marked all the same as we are. Hers, however, is different. The Ankh of Life bearing wings of Isis, inside the loop of the Ankh rests the symbol of Amun Ra and all rising from the Lotus of Enlightenment blooming within the Sacred Nile while crowned with the Infinity*. Sayid, she told me that her uncle was a Priest of Amun Ra. Would they bear such similar markings?"  
  
"If you are going to talk about Miss Crawford's tattoo, then I would suggest you do it where no one else can hear you."  
  
Sayid and Ardeth turned to see Hamid standing there with an unpleasant look on his face. He'd been right up front when Ardeth had spanked Leigh like a recalcitrant child. Not that he blamed the tribal leader one bit. More than once he'd wanted to spank Leigh for her stunts. Leigh laughed about them when they were done, but she alone was the reason he had so much gray hairs on his head. And that still did not give the stranger the right to lay his hands on his Leigh.  
  
"Come with me, I will tell you about that marking." Hamid sighed and followed Ardeth back to his tent to discuss Leigh Crawford.  
  
--  
  
* http://www.gryphonsmoon.com/Catalog/CrossStitch/Ankh-of-Life.html  
  
**** 


	16. Here Comes Trouble

Leigh looked up from her meditations to see it was dark again. She sighed and pulled the earbuds out of her ears. This was getting tiresome to her. Either present her with the choice or leave her alone, she didn't care. But coming back to her every time she closed her eyes and dropping her into a void of nothingness was just downright annoying.  
  
Nicodemus meowed at her and climbed into her lap. He stretched up and touched noses with his human and then proceeded to rub his head under her chin. "At least you haven't abandoned me, Nico."  
  
"How could I? This is your damned fantasy sequence!"  
  
"It is, isn't it? Shouldn't I have control over my dream then?"  
  
"Not really. You know, it's funny you should wind up in Egypt in your dream. Did you know that the Ancient Egyptians worshipped cats as gods? We cats have never forgotten this. Yep, I think I could have lived the high life back then."  
  
"Right. Did you also know that when the cat's owner died, most often the cat was mummified along side the human whether or not the cat was dead?"  
  
Nicodemus turned and looked at Leigh. "You're joking."  
  
"Hey, this is my dream remember? I wouldn't joke about that if I wanted to. Which reminds me, why are you in my dream?"  
  
"Because it's not a dream, remember? This is an alternate reality for you Leigh. Sort of a 'what if'. I got sucked into this hell when the lightening zapped you. Remember, I dug my claws into your backside when you accidentally put your knee on my tail in your haste to get to the electrical plug."  
  
"Oh... right. Sorry about that Nico. So, if this isn't a dream... and I'm here to make a choice... why are you here?"  
  
"To help guide you, I guess. I mean, you're in the desert with a hunk of a man by human standards - who's spanked you of all things. Has any man you've ever known tried to spank you like that? And don't bother to deny it, the attraction is mutual. I might be a cat, but damn I know animal attraction when I see it!"  
  
"The voice said I had to make a choice."  
  
"Oh yes, that part. Which reality is the one you want to live with for the rest of your life? You're in a place called The Crossroads. Very few people ever get to see this you know. Most of the time it's people who have that 'out of body' experience or who see that white light at the gates of heaven. All a bunch of hooey, if you ask me. When the choice comes to you, your heart and soul will make the choice they are meant to make. You don't get an active choice in the matter."  
  
"So I could wind up here for the rest of my life?"  
  
"You got it sister."  
  
Leigh scratched Nicodemus' ears a bit as she thought. The big black cat purred and curled up in her lap. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, to live in Egypt for the rest of her life. Sure as hell would beat driving for 45 minutes to get to work every morning in rush hour traffic. She'd rather suffer Ardeth Bay and his overbearing arrogance than have to suffer another shouting tirade by her idiot boss.  
  
"Whatever choice is made, what happens to you?"  
  
"Hmm? Oh, I win either way. I get to go wherever I want. I made niiiiiiiiiiice friends with the voice's kitty. She's a hot little tomato I gotta tell you. Siamese, dainty little thing who loves big brutish black cats like me. Oh yeah, she wants me." Nico's voice held such an air of smugness that Leigh had an instant image of the cat Salem from the Sabrina the Teenage Witch television show.  
  
"OOPS!! Gotta go sister!!" Nicodemus jumped out of her lap and took off into the darkness.  
  
"Huh? What...?"  
  
"Here comes trouble!!" was all Nico said as he vanished.  
  
Leigh's eyes snapped open to see someone entering the tent.  
  
**** 


	17. Are We Having Fun Yet?

Ohhh WOW!! I can't believe that everyone is actually liking this story and getting behind it!! I am just floored with the reviews and responses. I swear, there IS a payoff between Ardeth and Leigh coming up... but not for a few more chapters. Hang with me!!  
  
--  
  
Ardeth had been discussing Leigh's tattoo with Hamid and Sayid when he heard gunshots. Both he and Sayid looked at one another, then took off running out of the tent. They came to Leigh's tent to see one dead man and five more running into the entrance to the ruined temple. A quick look inside the tent told them that only Leigh's guns were missing along with her. The holster sat empty on the bed and all the spare magazine clips were there.  
  
More gunshots rang out, echoing from the ruins along with the sounds of shouting. Ardeth grabbed up her gunbelt with the extra clips of ammunition on it. He and Sayid took off for the ruins, Hamid behind them both.  
  
"She's heading for the Main Chamber."  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"Because she's got more room to move around, more room to hide and suprise whoever it is that's after her."  
  
"Makes sense. Just promise me you won't spank her again... at least not where we can all see it."  
  
Ardeth didn't answer him. They both rounded the corner into the main chamber to see... absolutely nothing. The hissing was still there of course. At Sayid's questioning look, Ardeth pointed to where the floor ended over the pit of snakes. Hamid skidded into their backs, knocking them both forward a few feet from the impact.  
  
Ardeth pulled both Sayid and Hamid into a nook behind a pillar. "Stay with Hamid and protect him. I'm going to look for Leigh and whomever is after her." Ardeth gave Sayid Leigh's gunbelt and started off towards where the altar was.  
  
"Be careful Ardeth.." Sayid nodded and put himself between Hamid and the entrance to the nook.  
  
A man stepped from behind a pillar, kicking a loose stone in the process. Ardeth pulled his scimitar just as his attacker came from behind. The man bought his own scimitar down over Ardeth's head. Ardeth dropped to his knees, bringing his scimitar sideways over his head to block the blow. The two of them danced around each other with deadly grace, parrying and fending off blow after blow.  
  
Sayid and Hamid were also set upon by two men, Sayid doing his best to fend off both of them. Hamid was pushed back into the nook just as a sword slid past Sayid's side. Eventually Sayid was drawn out of the corner and into the open room with his two attackers. This left Hamid to duck and avoid the fighting as best he could while looking for Leigh.  
  
He didn't have far to look. Leigh's voice echoed from the private room behind the altar right before she took off at a dead run towards where Hamid was hiding. She had both guns - one in hand and the other tucked into her shorts waistband, the slides full back and proving that she was out of bullets.  
  
"LEIGH!!" Hamid shouted at her. As she turned around, he threw a clip at her and ducked back out of sight. She caught it easily and reloaded her gun in hand. She turned and threw the other one to Hamid with a shout for him to reload. Two men were chasing Leigh as she cleared the width of the room in her mad dash. Hastily she ducked behind a pillar to catch her breath. As she did, Leigh took a quick mental summary of what was going on. Ardeth was having his own problems. The man he was fighting was a good 6 inches taller and about 100 pounds heavier. He seemed to be made of pure muscle. Ardeth kept having to back up inch by inch. Sayid had managed to kill one of his attackers and was busy dealing with the second. Hamid had her second gun and she had two men bent on killing her. This was peachy.  
  
**** 


	18. My Reality Check Just Bounced...

Leigh was not having a good afternoon. Her foot was throbbing still from the kick she gave Ardeth, her rear end was aching from the walloping that Ardeth had given her earlier and she only had one gun to fend off two men. Quickly she checked her weapon over before thumbing the slide release. The brushed steel slide rasped closed and she edged around the pillar... Face first into a fist aimed at her nose. She stumbled backwards from behind the pillar and wound up on her back. As she tried to clear her vision of the tweety birds circling her head, she thought she heard Ardeth's cry of concern. Maybe he wasn't all ass after all.  
  
Sayid twisted and grasped his opponent by the wrist, twisting him off of his balance and tossing him into the two men who were bearing down on Leigh. The smaller of the men got up and raced back out of the entrance. That left a total of three men now to deal with. Sayid's counter attack gave Leigh the time she needed to come out of her daze.  
  
Hamid shouted to her just as Leigh came to. She looked up at him, her long braid hanging over her shoulder. He threw her second gun to her. Deftly catching it, Leigh spun up and squeezed off a few rounds at the two remaining men. Both of them scrambled behind a pillar. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Leigh rushed over to where Hamid was hiding.  
  
"You are alright Walad?" He buckled her gunbelt around her hips as he asked.  
  
Leigh winked and blew a wisp of her bangs out of her eyes as she reholstered her guns. "I'm fine Hamid." Quickly she fastened the thigh straps and raised up. Kissing his forehead, she re-drew both guns and took off towards where Ardeth was.  
  
The 'kla-chunk' of a slide being cocked drew her attention. The smaller man who'd run from the ruins earlier had returned with a machine gun aimed at her. With a slight sigh, Leigh turned and took off running. Following her was a trail of bullet spraying sand all over the place as she ran. With a gigantic jump, Leigh launched herself up onto a fallen pillar. Rolling, she came to a stop on her back and fired repeatedly. By pure luck several of her shots hit the man with the machine gun.  
  
Ardeth and Sayid were back to back, fending off their two attackers. Both of them looked like they'd gone ten rounds with Lock-Nah and Imhotep. "Where is Leigh?" Ardeth shouted.  
  
"She's fine!" came Sayid's reply. "Don't worry about her!" Sayid turned, threw his knee into his opponent's mid-section and then brought his scimitar down across the back of his neck. The man fell to the ground in a limp heap.  
  
Leigh was catching her breath when a sword swooped out of nowhere towards her stomach. In a flash of motion, she kicked her feet up over her head and kipped up to a crouch. Spinning on the ball of her foot, she smoothly belted the third man in the mouth. He stumbled back a bit, grabbing his jaw in pain as the blood began to pour out of his mouth. However, he recovered fast enough to throw his sword at her.  
  
Leigh stepped and somersaulted off of the pillar she'd been perched on. But, he'd managed to catch her on her landing and he connected with a right fist to her jaw. Leigh stumbled and landed on her back again, her head bouncing off the stone floor. Her entire back and backside was going to be in agony when this was over... Her attacker was on her again, standing over her with his free hand coming down to grasp her throat...  
  
Ardeth decided he'd had enough of this and grabbed the big man by his wrist and whirled him around. As he did, Sayid turned to assist his friend and Leader, his scimitar held at the ready. Neither of them had planned this, but the look of shock on the bigger man's face was utterly horrid as he looked down and saw the tip of a scimitar protruding from his abdomen.  
  
As Sayid and Ardeth were stepping back from that bloody heap, they both heard viscous swearing in Egyptian Arabic and saw Leigh with the last attacker's hand around her throat. Ardeth fought the urge to rush over and help her. She needed to do this on her own, for her own sake. He kept a close vigil, however, in case she needed his help.   
  
The man was having a hard time keeping his grip on her as he lifted her to her feet. "Give me the icon." he growled.  
  
"Like hell." Leigh brought her shin up with extreme prejudice towards his groin. But she missed and connected with his knee instead. It was sufficient enough to break his grip on her. Leigh stumbled back, coughing slightly. She was trying to breath and unprepared for the backhand blow across her face. She flew back again, landing on her back for the fourth time in less than 10 minutes. Her guns were jarred out of her hands and skidded across the sandy stone floor, bouncing off of Ardeth's boots. He reached down and picked up her guns to keep them from getting lost in the scuffle.  
  
Leigh rolled over and saw Ardeth pick up her guns. He nodded to her and moved to the side. So he was going to let her fight this one out, hm? NOW he picks the time to let her do things her way. The attacker raised his scimitar over his head to strike at Leigh. She kicked up, hitting him on the inside of his thigh right above the same knee she'd hit a few seconds ago. She flipped her feet over her head and rolled up to her feet.  
  
The man stumbled, grasping his leg where she'd kicked him. He looked up to see Leigh bobbing lightly on the balls of her feet and her fists raised slightly in front of her.  
  
"Give me the icon, bitch, and I'll let you live." he growled.  
  
"I am not A bitch." Leigh snarled and hop-stepped, kicking up high and nailing him square in the chest. At the same time, she jump-kicked with her other foot, connecting her boot with his sword hand. "I am THE bitch..." The scimitar went somersaulting over her head as the man stumbled back. Leigh turned around and watched the sword. Reaching out both hands, she caught the sword at the hilt. "And that's MISS Bitch to you!" she growled as she spun around, bringing the sword down across his chest and laying it open from his neck to groin. The look on his face was of stunned shock as he fell to the ground in a lifeless heap. Leigh slowly lowered the tip of the scimitar to the ground and gasped for a few breaths. She was bleeding from her nose, her mouth and a crease on her upper left arm where a fragment of stone had managed to strike a flesh wound on her.  
  
Ardeth was impressed, and it showed in his face. She handled a sword like she'd been born with one in her hand. Without thinking otherwise, he stepped closer to her with both of her guns in his hands to give back to her.  
  
Leigh spun around with the sword in hand, tip leveled at Ardeth's chest. Both of his hands came up in a show of surrender as his eyes fixed on the sword. Eventually Leigh lowered the weapon, dropping it with a loud clatter to the ground. Slowly Sayid knelt down to pick up the dropped sword. The entire time Ardeth kept his eyes on Leigh. She looked like she was about to...  
  
In a flash Ardeth had his arms around her as she passed out. Her guns clattered to the ground under her as he dropped them to catch her.  
  
"Go fetch the healer Sayid. She's going to need more tending than I can give her. Hamid, will you -"  
  
"Already done." The older man's voice was full of concern as he picked up Leigh's two guns and followed Ardeth out of the temple ruins.  
  
--  
  
Walad = child  
  
**** 


	19. Healing Hands

Leigh's eyes were heavy. She knew she needed to open them, but she was just so tired. No, not tired, sleepy... there was a difference. She felt fuzzy, groggy. She heard muffled voices around her.  
  
"How is she?" That... was Hamid's voice... she recognized that voice.  
  
"She is sleeping. I gave her some herbs to help her sleep. Her foot is swollen and tender to the touch. From what Ardeth told me, she kicked him in the shin earlier in the day, yes?" Who was this? She didn't recognize this voice... "Ahh, so that is where the bruise came from. I first thought a horse had kicked him. But she is to stay off of it for the next few hours, two days would be best."  
  
Two days? Like Hell!  
  
"I also cleaned out the cut on her forehead. It looked like it was a few days old and it needed some herbs to draw the infection out of it."  
  
"Shukran Nabil. You have done well in helping Miss Crawford. I will tend to her the rest of the night." Ardeth's voice... Vaguely she heard movements, like people leaving.  
  
Leigh groaned and tried to open her eyes. Her reward was a pounding behind her eyes that put her back into her place.  
  
"Easy little Harami..." Ardeth knelt down beside here where she was laying on his bed. He took the cloth that Nabil had left in a basin of cool water and gently pressed it against her forehead. "You need to rest. You had that old man worried sick over you, do you know that? Hamid cares for you like you are his own daughter."  
  
Leigh smiled and opened her eyes again, slowly this time. A very gentle looking AND SMILING Ardeth greeted her. "where.... where am I?"  
  
"In my tent. It was closer than yours and Nabil would not go into your tent." He chuckled softly. "He still does not believe in entering a 'woman's domain'."  
  
Leigh just groaned and closed her eyes again. "Oh that just explains everything. Now explain to me why I'm in your bed, please."  
  
"You passed out in the temple ruins. Your body took a lot of abuse and needed a healer's attention. You have a cut on your forehead which is infected, a cut on your arm which Nabil cleaned and wrapped with herbs to keep it from becoming infected. He also bandaged your foot, which you are to stay off of for a few days. I think you'll make it, don't you?" He winked in jest.  
  
Leigh looked at him like he was a raving loon. This wasn't the same Ardeth Bay, was it? The one who'd scooped her up onto his horse, smacked her rear end, threatened to kill her, spied on her as she changed clothing, treated her like she was a child, spanked her in public and then walked away from her?  
  
"What? You look at me like I am mad."  
  
"I must be dreaming again." Leigh's eyes closed and she drifted back into La-La-Land.  
  
**** 


	20. A Meeting Of The Minds

Leigh woke up again later that night. She knew without looking outside that it was dark out. Her first thought was that she was having that damned dream again. But she heard Ardeth next to her.   
  
"Masa masal khair Leigh."  
  
"Yeah, ditto..." she croaked out. Her throat felt so dry now.  
  
He chuckled and pressed the cup to her lips. "Drink. Nabil said you'd need some water when you woke next. How do you feel?"  
  
"Like a herd of camels crapped in my mouth and then sat on me." She struggled to sit up. Her arm was protesting where the shard of stone had ripped her skin open.  
  
Ardeth set the cup down and helped her sit up. He then pressed the cup back to her lips. "Drink. It should help with the bad taste in your mouth. The herbs have a way of making your mouth taste like cotton and sand."  
  
Leigh drank slowly, trying not to fall asleep again. "How long have I been asleep?"  
  
"A few hours. Nothing too long Leigh. It's only been dark for an hour or so. Are you hungry?"  
  
Before she could answer, her stomach rumbled loudly.  
  
While Leigh blushed, Ardeth laughed and stepped to the flaps of his tent. A few minutes later Hamid came in, followed by another man with a platter of food. The smell alone was intriguing and appetizing.  
  
"Walad!!" Hamid rushed to her side and hugged her fiercely.  
  
"Ack.. Hamid..." Leigh was croaking again as the old man's surprisingly strong embrace began to crush her ribs. "Air... breathe... need air..."  
  
"Oh.." Hamid blushed and released her as Ardeth stepped outside with the one who had brought the food in.  
  
Leigh watched Ardeth leave. A fact which Hamid noted. "Did he touch you?"  
  
"HUH?" Leigh's head snapped back to Hamid. "What? No! Why on earth would you ask that?"  
  
"Walad, I found him outside of your tent last night, remember? He was watching you!"  
  
"Oh come on Hamid!" Leigh laughed at that. "He's had ample opportunity to do wicked things to me and he hasn't. Stop worrying about the virtue I don't have, please? I'm hungry and would like to eat."  
  
Hamid sat back. He was only looking after her well being as he had since she was born... He stood up and gave her a look of concern. Maybe she was telling the truth, but he still didn't trust the Med-jai one bit. He'd seen the looks of deep concern over Leigh while she was being worked on by the healer. It was an almost possessive look...   
  
He left Leigh to her food and walked out of the tent. Ardeth was outside talking with Sayid, but stopped when Hamid emerged. The elder man looked at Ardeth curiously, then back inside the tent. He looked down and then walked off to his tent. This man had replaced him in Leigh's life.  
  
Ardeth saw the look and knew instinctively what the older man was thinking. And it made him feel guilty. He didn't understand why he cared so much for a woman who had been nothing but a pain in the ass to him since he met her, but he did. He remembered the panic he felt when he heard Leigh's gunshots, then found her tent empty. He remembered the pride he felt watching her fight off the attackers with her strange methods, and then the sinking feeling of worry when she passed out into his arms.  
  
He was about to go after the man and talk to him when he heard Leigh hiss in pain. Quickly he rushed back into the tent to see Leigh's eyes squeezed shut and her face pale as the moonlight.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"I moved..."  
  
"You didn't try to stand up, did you?" He moved over to her and knelt down.  
  
"No." He looked at her.  
  
Leigh felt herself floundering under his gaze. "Yes."  
  
"I thought so. You know what I told you - you should rest as long as possible. When Nabil says you can walk, then I will allow you to walk. Until then, you are to stay put."  
  
She glared at him as he gently pushed her legs back onto the bed and covered her up. "I AM NOT A CHILD ARDETH!" she hissed.  
  
"Then do not act like one!" he hissed right back. "If you keep trying to walk on an injured foot then it will not heal right and you could be crippled for the rest of your life. Is that what you want?"  
  
"No." she whispered as she looked down. He was right, she was acting like a child. She knew that she should do as the healer said and that if she didn't she would indeed end up hobbling instead of running. "You don't understand Ardeth. You never will understand. I can't just sit here and let someone take care of me. I've taken care of myself for so long that -"  
  
"Shhh Harami. I do understand." He pressed a finger to her lips to silence her.  
  
Leigh looked up at him, not even bothering to try and remove his hand from her face. The look in his eyes was different somehow than before. She could get lost in those eyes.  
  
--  
  
Masa masal khair = Good Evening  
Walad = child  
  
**** 


	21. Erotica - The Fifth Food Group...

Leigh blinked and looked away from Ardeth. What the hell was she doing? After everything he'd done to her, she was now falling for him?  
  
Ardeth looked at her. He'd seen a glimmer of light shine in her eyes, something that hadn't been there before. Before her eyes had been hard, calculating. Now they were softer and more open. Her eyes looked like her body did that night when he watched her dance.  
  
"You... should eat. Your body needs to heal." He picked up the platter of food and settled onto the edge of the bed.  
  
Sayid had started to enter the tent to see if all was well, but when he heard the whispers he decided to leave well enough alone. Ardeth could handle himself and Leigh if necessary. All the same, he let the rest of the people know that Ardeth was not to be disturbed except for dire emergencies. Quietly he made his way to Hamid's tent. Maybe he could talk to the older man, help him understand what they were and why they did what they had done.  
  
Leigh looked at Ardeth. He was so sexy at this moment she was hurting. He had the platter of food across he lap and smiling at her. "I..."  
  
"... need to eat." He picked up a piece of meat with his fingers and offered it out to her.  
  
If he didn't come across as stunningly sexy before, this was the clincher for her. But if he wanted to feed her, then she'd play along. Leigh leaned forward and parted her lips to take the offered meat. Gently her teeth closed over the morsel of food as her lips wrapped around his fingers. While her tongue licked the food from his grasp, she gently sucked his fingers clean. While her mouth toyed with his fingers, she kept her eyes on his.  
  
Ardeth sucked in a breath when her mouth closed over his fingers. When he felt her tongue swirling around his fingers, he held that breath. It felt as if little bolts of electricity were shocking him, traveling from her mouth through his fingers right to the core of his being. He felt goosebumps raise on his arms and felt an ache develop in his groin.  
  
Leigh purred softly. His eyes had turned a darker shade, almost black and he was holding his breath. "Do you always feed those in your care like this?" she whispered.  
  
"Do you always tease those who care for you?" His voice was low, full of unspoken promise.  
  
"I'm a woman who knows what she wants."  
  
"And what is it you want, little Harami..."  
  
"More food..."  
  
Ardeth let go of the breath he'd been holding. He picked up a slice of fruit and brought it to her lips. Leigh slid her tongue out and let him lay it gently there. As he did, she licked his finger clean of the sweet juice before she closed her mouth. Ardeth shivered as he watched her lips.  
  
"Have you eaten, Ardeth?" She smiled and reached for a slice of papaya. It was slippery between her fingers and a trickle of it's juices ran down her fingers as she brought it to her lips. Ardeth groaned as his member bucked at the sight. It was becoming more and more painful to sit and watch her. She held the fruit to his lips for him to bite. But when he did, she pulled the fruit back.  
  
Leigh smiled and evil smile and laid the fruit between her lips. Holding it there, she leaned forward, offering it to him with her mouth. As Ardeth leaned forward, her fingers grasped at the front of his robes. When his lips met hers, Leigh moaned in her throat and pushed the fruit into his mouth with her tongue.  
  
Ardeth wasn't sure whether to chew the fruit or to just swallow it. He felt Leigh's lips firmly pressed against his and the juice from the papaya trickling down his chin. Then he felt the weight of the tray removed from his lap moments before her hands reached past the opening of his robes to his chest, her fingers gliding over his skin. Automatically he reached up to grasp her hair. His long fingers tangled into the still braided mass of her hair and he groaned in frustration. She was injured and needed her rest, not this...  
  
Ripping his lips from hers, he pushed her back by the shoulders. "We should not." His breath was hard to find as he watched her face. Pulpy bits of fruit still lingered on her lower lip and he could see the slick trail of juice at the corner of her mouth. His eyes were glued to her tongue as she slowly licked her lips clean.  
  
"I've spent my life doing what I shouldn't, Ardeth. And it feels damned good." She leaned forward, one hand sliding up into his hair and pulling his head back. Her tongue came to the curve of his chin where the drop of juice had slid. Slowly she licked up with the tip of her tongue until she came to his lips. She traced the line of his lower lip with her tongue slowly. Flicking her tongue slightly, she tasted the last bit of papaya juice on his lips.  
  
Ardeth was ready to melt. The feel of her tongue on his chin was more than he was ready to experience and it nearly undid him. He grasped her at her elbows, careful not to touch the bandage on her arm. At the same time, he pulled her over as he laid back on the bed. Leigh's weight rested on his body, but it felt good. He'd remembered the feel of her pressed against him the morning that he and his men had raided their camp. She fit against him almost perfectly.  
  
"I thought that you didn't want this." she whispered as her head dipped down against his neck. Slowly she nibbled and nipped at his throat. Her fingers grasped the edges of his robes and pulled. When they caught, she raised up with a slight growl and tugged ripping the laces apart. Leigh purred and lowered her head back down to his chest, her lips pressing feather light kisses along the lines of his chest. Every now and then her tongue flicked across a ridge of muscle.  
  
"I don't want to injure you more..." he groaned when her tongue flicked over one of his nipples. Ardeth caught hold of her braid and ripped the binding off it. Quickly he destroyed the braid, her mouth working slowly around his nipple. He could feel her tongue swirling around the sensitive skin as he threaded his fingers into her hair finally, his grip tightening to keep her mouth where it was.  
  
Leigh winced when his grip pulled painfully at her hair, but she slowly worked his fingers loose and raised up. She smiled at him and gripped his shoulders, pulling him up to sitting again. She shifted her position and settled in his lap, her legs wrapped loosely around his hips. Her hands began pushing his clothing off of his shoulders down to his waist. "I don't give a damn about my injuries. Don't think, just feel. Follow your instincts..." she whispered as she crushed her lips to his.  
  
Her whisper was rewarded by Ardeth growling as he pushed her back onto the bed. He gave in to the overwhelming urge he'd been fighting since he saw her strip unaware of her surroundings... he needed to feel her bare skin, to hear her gasps and moans, to hear her scream his name as she climaxed under him. It was a primal, possessive urge that overtook Ardeth...  
  
Somewhere deep inside he was frightened of how possessive he actually felt towards Leigh Crawford.  
  
**** 


	22. Guilt And Choices

(( OK OK...... so I kept it clean. don't hurt me!! Use your imaginations! ))  
  
Ardeth yawned and tried to stretch without disturbing Leigh. He had to stop and remind himself that it wasn't a mistake, that he didn't take advantage of her. He looked down at her as she slept beside him. She looked beautiful as she slept. And Allah bless him for thinking it, but she was infinitely more pleasant to deal with when she was asleep. He chuckled softly and brushed a long wisp of hair from her cheek. He'd have to either stop calling her a thief... or call her that for the rest of her life. Because that is what she'd become, His Thief. Without even trying Leigh Crawford had managed to steal his heart. He had to wonder if he held the same precious treasure from her, however. Doubts set in as he watched her sleep. Did she feel the same way he did? Or would she leave him without a thought now that she had what she had hunted for...  
  
He couldn't let her go. She blew into his life like a sand devil and firmly planted herself into his heart. He knew that if she were to leave... Ardeth didn't finish the thought, he didn't want to think about what would happen if she left. He held her tighter to him, his arms wrapping fiercely around her as if to keep her there by his side.  
  
Leigh, however, wasn't asleep. She was faking it, trying to figure out what the hell happened. One minute she was actually letting him feed her dinner, the next minute she had her tongue down his throat and reaching for the laces of his robes. When his grip on her tightened, she had to bite down a squeak of protest. What was he thinking about to hold her so tightly? Another thought plagued her desperately - she had slept afterwards without a dream. She remembered just floating, feeling fuzzy and warm and well satisfied sexually. Ardeth was a better lover than she'd had before. Not that it was a surprise.. just look at how built he was!  
  
She shifted and murmured in her sleep, trying to get him to relax his grip on her. Ardeth wasn't paying attention however. He was too deeply immersed in his own thoughts. He closed his eyes and relived the glorious experience she'd given him just a short while ago. He knew that he wasn't the first, and it pained him to think that there had been others before him who'd tasted HIS little thief's sweetness.  
  
"Ardeth.... stop...." Leigh couldn't stand it any more. His grip had tightened on her hard enough to make her gasp for breath. She pushed against his chest as she squeaked out the plea to stop. "You're hurting me......"  
  
Ardeth blinked and looked back down at her. Her dark brown eyes were wide and she was pushing at him. Immediately he opened his arms and let go of her. "What is it Harami?"  
  
"You were crushing me." Leigh coughed a bit and pushed back, putting some space between them. "What were you thinking?!" Gingerly she rubbed at her ribs and looked at him. He looked guilty. "What is it Ardeth? What's wrong?"  
  
"You are going to leave, aren't you?"  
  
His voice was barely a whisper, but she heard him clearly. Leigh sat up as looked down at him. Her hair fell in cascades around her shoulders and onto the bed. "I don't know."  
  
"What do you mean you do not know? It is a simple question, Harami. Yes or no, are you going to leave me now that you have your statue?"  
  
The accusation stung Leigh. "You would think so low of me?" She pushed his hand away as he reached for her. "NO! You... bastard... You actually think... how.." Leigh scrambled out of the bed as he reached for her again.  
  
"Leigh... stop... your foot!"  
  
"FUCK MY FOOT AND FUCK YOU!" she screamed as she hastily threw her clothing on. He actually thought she'd do something that low. Leigh hobbled around the bed, intent on getting as far from him as possible. How could he even think that she would just leave him like a one-night stand? She was so blinded by the tears threatening to spill that she ran straight into Ardeth's chest. He grabbed her by the shoulders and held her there. "How could you..." she said. "How could you think that of me?!"  
  
"I am sorry Harami." His voice cracked. "I was afraid you would leave. I cannot think of what it would be like." His arms wrapped around her and hugged her tight to him. "It hurt to think that you would leave me."  
  
"If I had a choice, I wouldn't..." she whispered.  
  
--  
  
Harami - thief  
  
**** 


	23. It's Called ROCK MUSIC For A Reason...

Ardeth looked back down at Leigh as she slept. Finally, after a little bit of persuasion, she drifted off in his arms. For some reason she fought sleeping, saying she didn't want to dream anymore, she didn't want the choice anymore. Her words puzzled him greatly. He remembered her whispered words 'if I had a choice, I wouldn't'... those too puzzled him greatly. As she drifted off, he restrained the urge to wrap her up in his arms again. She needed to sleep, to rest. It would also give him the chance to talk to Sayid and Hamid both. The older man deserved at least to know how Ardeth felt about the woman Hamid considered his daughter.   
  
Cautiously he inched up off of the bed and dressed. Casting one last look back at a sleeping Leigh, he left the tent and walked towards Hamid's tent. Looking up at the sky, he guessed it was well after the middle of the night. He sighed and moved towards Hamid's. On the way, he passed Leigh's tent. The tent flaps were untied and fluttering in the stiff breeze. The empty tent brought back to mind the attackers from earlier that day. What were they after? There were not another tribe of people like he and the Med-jai. They were not dressed like desert people. They looked to be mercenaries. But the three of them were skilled with scimitars. Ardeth frowned as he detoured into her tent. Her rucksack was still there where he'd seen it earlier, the flap not disturbed. She had put it in there, hadn't she? The icon... were they after the icon?  
  
His frown deepened as he bent down and reached for her pack. If they were after the icon, then when they did not return with it, there would be more to come after it. Leigh was not safe as long as she held the icon in her possession. As he lifted the flap of the pack, he spied the black silk wrapped bundle she'd made of the statue with his wrapped turban. 'You cannot touch it with your bare hands...' her words came back as whispers in his ear as he lifted the bundle out delicately. '..legend has it that this statue IS Apophis imprisoned by Amun Ra. Ra chose this shape to eternally remind Apophis that Ra was this victor on their struggle. Legend also has it that if human hands touch it, Apophis will return to the mortal world. Upon such time, the Seven Plagues of Egypt will seem like a cakewalk..'  
  
Such power for so ugly a statue. A snake being speared by Amun-Ra as he traveled on a boat.   
  
'touch it'  
  
Ardeth looked around. Where did that voice come from?  
  
'touch it... go on, touch it!' The voice whispered in his ear this time. 'Touch the statue, feel that it is just a statue. Nothing will happen...'  
  
Ardeth scowled as he re-wrapped the statue and hastily stuffed it back into Leigh's rucksack. He was in the process of putting it back where he found it when Sayid walked in behind him. Startled, he dropped the rucksack, spilling the contents all over. Among the items scattered all over the embroidered rug were the bundled statue, a small silver and blue box that Ardeth had seen Leigh holding in her hand, the hand drawn map, a journal, a brush and a few other personal items.  
  
Sayid chuckled at a blushing Ardeth as he knelt down and began stuffing things back into the pack.  
  
"I've spoken with Hamid, my friend. He is uncomfortable with us both now."  
  
"Why is that Sayid?" Ardeth looked up from the pack, the silver and blue box in his hand with the tiny ropes and beads dangling from it.  
  
"I told him that I would have no one else courting my daughter than you. He didn't like that. I think you angered him by treating Leigh like a child yesterday morning. I doubt he will forget that for some time yet."  
  
"I was not thinking. She just... she gets under your skin, annoys you to no end with her stubbornness and arrogance. She reminded me of a child who needed to be spanked. And when she kicked me, I decided that she needed it badly. It was stupid of me, I know." Ardeth's grip tightened involuntarily on the box in his hand. The big button under his thumb clicked and a loud racket came out of the beads at the end of the ropes.  
  
Sayid and Ardeth both stared at the slightly swaying beads. Where was that noise coming from... there? Tentatively he lifted it to his ear. Yes, it was coming from there. How had Leigh worn these things? Ardeth looked at Sayid who shrugged with a blank look on his face.  
  
"In the ears... yes, I think she had the beads in her ears..." Ardeth blinked as the racket stopped suddenly. What'd he do to it? He turned it over and shook it a moment. He was rewarded with a softer noise coming from it. He sighed in relief and set the box down on his lap. Carefully lifting the two beads, he put them in his ears. A look of amazement came over his face as he heard music!  
  
Sayid watched his friend and leader's face with amazement. They both sat there for a few minutes, Ardeth listening to the music coming from Leigh's silver box. When the song ended, he looked at Sayid and shook the box again. It had worked the first time...  
  
All of a sudden, a crashing and deafening noise blasted across Ardeth's eardrums and he jumped up like he'd been stabbed with a hot poker. He clawed at his ears, trying to get the beads out. Finally, he succeeded and threw them back down next to the box. By Allah, what sort of music was THAT?! Ardeth's ears were ringing and he now had a slight ache in his head. "Remind me never to do that again without Leigh here, please Sayid? I don't want to repeat such pain."  
  
Sayid just chuckled as Ardeth put the silver box back into the pack and hurried out of Leigh's tent.  
  
**** 


	24. Partial Revelations

Leigh woke to a thin filter of sunlight through the opening in the tent... and no Ardeth. Blinking away the sleepiness a moment, she sat up slowly and looked around. Carefully she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and immediately found her discarded clothing. Where was Ardeth?  
  
After dressing herself quickly, Leigh managed to stand up off of the bed. Gingerly she tested her foot and found it not too painful to weight on. So she limped around the bed towards the opening, using the tent itself as something to steady herself with. Following her progress was a pair of avian eyes. The soft chirping noise startled Leigh enough that she had to clench both hands into the fabric of the tent to keep from falling over.  
  
The eyes belonged to a small falcon perched near the bed. "Hello..." Leigh whispered. Ardeth's bird...  
  
She chuckled and passed off the thought while she eventually made her way outside the tent. There she looked around to see if there was anything she could use as a crutch or a cane to make her way to her own tent. Seeing nothing, she groaned and took a deep breath. Letting it out slowly, Leigh began the laborious limping journey towards her tent. After about ten minutes of having to hop, then stop and regain her balance, she finally was able to grasp the flaps of her tent and make her way inside.  
  
Plopping down on the tent, Leigh winced. Her good leg was sore from the overuse and her back was screaming in agony. She should have listened to Ardeth and just stayed in his bed. His bed... Leigh smiled. She'd felt better sleeping next to him than she ever had in her entire life. After all, what kind of life did she really have? There was the one back home with a cat and a computer and a shitty job... or there was this one in which she could get shot at every time she turned around for something she thought was worth the effort to go find. Did she REALLY want the kind of life Lara Croft led?  
  
Either way she decided, she had to let Ardeth in on the secret. He deserved to know that she might not have a choice to stay. Not that she wanted to leave. This man had blown into her life on horseback, spanked her senseless then blew her mind with the most out of this world sex she'd ever had the grace to experience. Softly she chuckled. Oh yeah, staying with Ardeth was a given...  
  
Her eyes widened at that realization. She wanted to stay here with him. That fact was decided last night in the middle of their little spat. She'd told him that she wanted to stay. But she quickly reminded herself that she might not have that choice. Either way, he still deserved to know that. But, until she actually saw him, she was going to do some further inspection of the murals in that main Altar Chamber. She looked around and picked up her rucksack. "God this weighs a ton..." she muttered. Of course it did, it still held the icon in it. The icon...  
  
Leigh sighed. As long as she held the icon, neither she nor Ardeth were safe. The attackers yesterday proved that. The one had demanded the icon in return for letting her live. Who were they? Why did they want the icon itself? Surely they didn't want to test the legend and see if they could bring Apophis to the mortal world. Such a thing probably was hokum in itself. But what if it wasn't? These and a million other thoughts tumbled through Leigh's brain as she limped her way towards the entrance to the temple ruins.  
  
Watching her progress this time was several pair of human eyes.  
  
--  
  
Ardeth and Sayid had spent the entire evening speaking with the elder man about Leigh and soothing his concerns. They both were surprised to learn that Hamid knew of the Med-jai and knew of the legend of The Mummy. It wasn't the Med-jai themselves that discomfited the elder man - it was Leigh herself.  
  
"She has not been herself these past few days. The day before your raid on our camp, she injured herself. She disappeared down the main corridor towards the Altar Chamber and suddenly her torchlight disappeared. We all feared she had died. But we found her unconscious laying on the ground with the cut in her forehead. Slowly she came to and... I do not know how to describe it. Leigh has always been a woman who loved the glory of raiding the old tombs, finding the wealth and priceless treasures of the ancient ones. She never took the wealth for herself, but instead gave it to the government or whomever contracted with her to find the items. She loved trying to defeat the puzzles and the probable curses and booby-traps of the old tombs. But since the accident, she has not been herself. She started to babble on about a cat and a computer and suits and Websites and that she didn't belong here. I thought at first it was the Curse. But nothing has been right. She invited you along into the temple. The Leigh Crawford I watched grow up would have told you and your people to jump into the ocean before inviting you along. She also would have shot you for spanking her the way you did yesterday morning. I am extremely worried about her."  
  
"I see Hamid. Shukran for telling me this. Is there any chance she is faking this difference?"  
  
"I have known Leigh all of her life, been on more expeditions with her than I can remember. No, this is not the same Leigh that I know. This temple... would it still have the power of The Gods in it?"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
Hamid looked doubtful, like he wasn't sure if he wanted to say anything.  
  
"Hamid...?"  
  
"Leigh, the morning she injured herself, had been wondering what life would be like if she were not what she is."  
  
"Strange. The Leigh you know wonders what life is like elsewhere and then wakes up as if she is someone else."  
  
"Yes. And that night... I didn't leave her alone as she tried to sleep. I kept watch on her. Just as she was beginning to drift off to sleep, I heard her mumble that she didn't feel right, that it wasn't even her body."  
  
Ardeth and Sayid looked at one another. What if the elder man was right and this wasn't the Leigh Crawford that he knew? They both had seen stranger things happen in the last few years. But this was impossible, wasn't it? A soul shift? If this wasn't the real Leigh Crawford's soul, then who's was it and what did it want.  
  
"THE ICON!" all three shouted at once.  
  
**** 


	25. The Cult Of Apophis

Both Sayid and Ardeth jumped up at the same time and ran for Leigh's tent. Throwing the flaps open, they saw the pack was gone.  
  
No, she wouldn't do that. She was too careful to wrap it up so that no part of it showed to be touched by human skin. Ardeth shook his head. The woman he just spent the night with wouldn't... would she? He took off running for his tent. The only thing that greeted him was his empty bed and Horus still on his perch.  
  
"She is gone."  
  
"Yes, Sayid, she is gone. She can not have gotten far. Send out riders to scout for her. As injured as she is, she will not make it far. I am going into the temple ruins to see if she is there by any chance. Be careful."  
  
To say that Ardeth felt betrayed was an understatement. Leigh had played him a fool. Hadn't he? Their argument last night didn't feel like she was playing him. But who knows the mind of a woman, truly? Ardeth stalked across the sand towards the temple entry, his face set in a hard scowl. What if nothing had happened like they had been thinking? What if she had simply been possessed of an evil spirit that needed to be purged? Would she still feel the same about him? He commanded himself to stop thinking that way. This was no time to be concerned about matters of the heart when the world was potentially in jeopardy.  
  
Deftly he made his way down the corridor by memory. Torches had been set along the way to make coming and going easier. The hissing in the walls had stopped, rendering the place silent as a tomb. This unnerved him slightly as he pressed onward. The closer he got to the Altar Chamber, the louder the other noise got. Chanting... calling to Apophis to return, that the great god Ra was no longer as powerful as he had been. But it was not a woman's voice he heard. It was many men. Relief washed over Ardeth to know that Leigh wasn't calling on the Chaos Dragon to return to the mortal world. But if it wasn't her voice, where was she?  
  
--  
  
Leigh was blissfully unawares of her surroundings. She had been on her way down the corridor when she finally realized that torches had been placed in the wall at even intervals to give easy passage. She had turned around to go back and look for Ardeth, to warn him, when more of the same men from yesterday had grabbed her. Even as tough as she was, she couldn't fight back in her weakened condition. The first blow to her back brought her to her knees, her eyes squeezing closed against the tears of pain that threatened to spill. She could not shed tears in front of these people and have them think she was weaker than them. Valiantly she struggled to her feet only to be hit across the middle of her back again. This time she cried out in pain and hit the ground on all fours, tears spilling freely. After that several men separated her from her rucksack and rummaged around until the found the silk bundle.  
  
"Don.. Don't touch it..." she gasped against the pain.  
  
"Shut up, silly woman." the leader sneered at her.  
  
"I have a name you prick." Leigh snarled and reached down to her thigh for a gun that wasn't there. 'SHIT' she thought. 'This is not good.'  
  
"I don't care if you do or not, WOMAN. You are about to witness the dawning of a new era." She was hauled up and forced to look at the man who now held the bundle of silk wrapped icon.  
  
'Jeez,' she thought. 'He sure looks kinda serpentine with those beady little eyes and hissy voice. Either that or he's a choirboy.' Summoning what strength she could, Leigh threw her head forward into his and head-butted him.  
  
The leader stumbled back and dropped the bundled icon. Leigh managed to kick it out of his immediate reach before she was belted in the stomach for her good intentions. Two of the men restrained her while another landed one last blow to her jaw sent Leigh into dreamland.  
  
Meanwhile, the leader of the group had recovered his wits and retrieved the icon from where she had kicked it. "Bring her."  
  
The men then proceeded down the rest of the corridor to the Altar Chamber. Leigh was shackled to a pillar out of the way as the man with the icon made his way behind the Altar itself.  
  
"We have waited for thousands of years for this chance!" The acolytes took their appointed places around the Altar as the High Priest carefully unwrapped the icon. Chanting began around him as the gold of the statue began to peek its way through the black silk. When the statue was completely revealed, the Priest spoke up again. "Finally, after suffering the humiliation of defeat at the hands of a vain God, the great Chaos Dragon will rise up and devour the Sun!"  
  
"Like hell."  
  
**** 


	26. Apocalypse Averted

Everyone turned to see one man in black robes standing with his scimitar drawn at the ready. His face was set in a deep scowl as he looked over the group of men assembled. Ardeth's eyes swept the cavernous room quickly, getting a layout of the place. The dead bodies from the day before were gone, probably thrown into the viper pit at the edge of the room. Leigh was seemingly unconscious and shackled to a pillar out of the way. If fighting broke out, she was an open target. If only Sayid were here...  
  
Sayid stepped beside Ardeth and drew his own scimitar. He'd followed Ardeth after realizing that there was a trail of odd shaped footsteps in the sand leading from Leigh's tent to the entrance to the temple ruins. He'd sent word out to the riders through Horus that they were to come to the ruins as soon as they received the message. "Help should be here shortly my Leader." he said in a hushed tone.  
  
"Shukran Sayid." There were not many men, and he and Sayid could easily take them all on. But there was the Leigh factor to be dealt with. Without her being conscious to fight off an aggressor, she was bait. Neither he nor Sayid wanted to give them that option. So, they held their ground a moment before edging over to where Leigh was.  
  
As Sayid kept his watch on the men, Ardeth knelt down and checked her for a pulse. He found a strong one despite her appearances. Briefly she mumbled something before passing out again. This was not good. Shouts coming from down the hallway drew his and Sayid's attention.  
  
It also spurred the High Priest. Swiftly he reached out to put his hand on the icon. A shot rang out and the statue bolted up off the Altar, sending the High Priest scrambling for cover. Both Sayid and Ardeth glanced over to see Hamid standing in the entrance to the Chamber with one of Leigh's guns in his hand. He nodded to them as more of the Med-jai came in. They went on the offensive against the acolytes as Hamid rushed over to Leigh's side. While he worked to release the shackles, Ardeth left the fray to hunt down the High Priest and the icon.  
  
Briefly Leigh came to as Hamid jiggled her. "Humm....ohh.... my jaw... call the orthodontist, will ya Hamid.." she sagged against Hamid as he fiddled with the locks. "Don't.. let him touch..."  
  
"Shush Walad. Let them deal with the threat."  
  
"No, Hamid... the statue. Can't... touch it... the Altar..."  
  
The High Priest still had the length of black silk in his hand as he crawled along the ground towards the Altar. The icon had to be somewhere around here. All he had to do was touch it and this would be a won fight. But where had it jumped to?  
  
A scuffle of booted feet kicked the icon across the chamber. Ardeth followed the glitter of gold as it skittered across the sandy stone tiling of the ground. Hastily he swiped his scimitar through the bodies, careful not to injure his own people in the process. He had to get it before the Priest did.  
  
Hamid had almost freed the second of the locks when he froze, his eyes wide. Leigh looked up at him to see his lips moving slightly. "Muta'assif Walad..." he whispered as a trickle of blood seeped down his chin. With a whisper, he slid to the floor. Behind him was the High Priest holding a bloody dagger. Leigh tried to move away, but she couldn't move fast enough. The best she could do was get to her feet before he grabbed hold of her.  
  
"Call them off imra'a."  
  
"Go to hell."  
  
He pressed the dagger into her neck, drawing a thin trickle of blood. "Call them off!"  
  
Leigh stifled a scream, her hands grasping at the arm holding her across her shoulders. His hand had her upper arm right where it'd been sutured up the night before. "N... NO!" she hissed out.  
  
"Very well then." He shifted his grip on her, dropped the dagger and pressed his fingertips into the middle of her back against her spine.  
  
Despite her best efforts to remain silent as the shattering pain ripped up her spine, she screamed. The scream was loud enough to echo off the rounded cavern walls and instantly halt the fighting.  
  
Ardeth had just located the statue and was about to pick it up with the edge of his robes when the scream halted him. He spun around, his eyes coming immediately to Leigh and the High Priest. She looked to be in tremendous pain at the hands of the man holding her. An anger like he'd never felt before rose in him, choking him with the bitterness of the bile. The crowd of people parted between him and the High Priest.  
  
"Give me the icon!"  
  
"Don't.... don't do it!" Leigh's cry was answered by another stiff jab of his fingers into her back, causing her to cry out in pain again. "Agab MuHibb... la'imil..." she whispered.  
  
Ardeth stepped forward as Leigh seemed to sag against the Priest. She desperately needed him and he was arguing over a damned statue. But she had pleaded with him to not give the statue up. "Let her go."  
  
"With what promise?" the Priest hissed. "I keep her, you give me the statue. We trade, yes?"  
  
Ardeth looked at Leigh, she at him. Her eyes begged him not to do it. But he couldn't look her in the eyes, see the pain she was in and not do what he could to ease that pain. "Yes."  
  
Leigh felt her heart sink as he said yes. She also felt something press into her leg. Her eyes drifted down over the Priest's arm to the ground. Hamid was there, pressing the dropped dagger into her hand. Slowly she took it from him. Poor Hamid... she was seeing the life seep out of his eyes as he slumped back to the ground.  
  
Ardeth took a step forward towards Leigh when some movement near her caught his eye. Flicking a look between her and Sayid not more than a few feet from her, Ardeth threw the statue towards the viper pit. Leigh took the advantage and drove the dagger into the Priest's thigh, twisting it sharply. This time it was the Priest who's scream echoed off the walls of the Chamber. Instantly the Med-jai warriors spurred into action and cornered the acolytes before they could resume the struggle. Leigh fell back to the ground as the Priest let her go and fell to the side. Ardeth rushed to her side even as she reached for the pistol in Hamid's hand. Ardeth's scimitar came down in one swift blow to sever the chain of her shackle.  
  
"Hamid..." she whispered. As best she could, she pulled the only father she knew now into her lap. He was already dead, but still she needed to hold him. Ardeth watched her silently as the rest of the warriors led the acolytes out.  
  
The Priest inched himself along the ground towards where the icon had landed. It was inches from the edge of the pit. It was within his reach... just a bit more and Apophis would come to reap revenge...  
  
"Did you mean it Harami?" Ardeth whispered. He needed to hear the words. Gently he pulled Hamid from her lap and helped her up.  
  
"MuHibb?" she asked.  
  
"Aiwa."  
  
The Priest began laughing as he stretched out, his fingertips just barely within reach. A coldness began seeping though the Altar Chamber. Leigh snatched Ardeth's scimitar from his grasp and flung it at the icon. The kris-blade flipped tip over pommel repeatedly before impacting with the icon in an echoing shatter. The Priest screamed as the statue teetered off the edge of the pit down into the writing mass of serpents.  
  
Slowly the statue and Ardeth's sword both sank down into the snake bodies as they moved and shifted, like quicksand devouring an unwitting victim. Unless someone was brave enough to venture down into that pit, the statue would remain out of human hands for the rest of eternity.  
  
"You have not answered my question, my Harami. Did you mean what you said?"  
  
--  
  
Shukran = Thank You  
Walad = Child  
Muta'assif = I'm Sorry.  
Imra'a = woman  
Agab = Please  
MuHibb = Lover  
la'imil = do not  
(( I had to take some stretch of liberty here with this phrase. My source for Arabic translation does not cover contractions and such. ))  
Aiwa = Yes  
  
**** 


	27. Final Revelations

"There are things you need to know and understand, Ardeth." Leigh sighed and bent down to pick up her guns from Hamid's grasp. "Come with me and we will talk in the privacy of your tent."  
  
Ardeth frowned. Her voice had an air of resignation to it, like she was having to do something she had no desire to do. This troubled him as he followed her. The Priest behind them was of no concern any longer. He would either dive into the viper pit after the icon, thereby condemning himself to certain death... or he would give up and leave the temple ruins. Either way, he was of no more danger to either he or Leigh.  
  
Leigh was fighting herself inside. She wanted to break down and tell Ardeth that she did mean it, calling him 'Lover', that she meant the meaning behind it. But before she did that, she had to make sure that even if she did mean it she might not have the choice to stay. Her heart was battling her mind and soul inside as she slowly and carefully walked to Ardeth's tent, her guns in hand.  
  
Once inside, she didn't turn around. She just kept her back to Ardeth as he entered behind her. She heard him leaving instructions that under no circumstances were they to be disturbed. That being said, he closed the tent behind him and tied the flaps shut.  
  
"What is it you are so burdened with Leigh that you must speak in private." He sat down on the bed and reached for her.  
  
Leigh pulled back slightly, her face looking down as she did. One arm crossed over her stomach to grip her elbow. She had not put her guns down yet. "I may not have the choice to stay here with you" she whispered.  
  
Ardeth wasn't sure if he had heard her correctly. Choice to stay? Didn't she say last night that she would? "I do not understand."  
  
"I am not of this place, Ardeth. I do not belong here."  
  
"If it is the mater of you being American, then it is easily remedied my Harami."  
  
"No. It's not that. When I say that I do not belong here, I mean that I should not be here at all. By some freak accident of the universe I wound up here, in your time and reality."  
  
As she spoke, the world began to shift around them both. Ardeth paid no attention to it, if he even noticed it. The little specks of light seeping in from the tent flaps disappeared. They were left in a void of nothingness as Leigh had experienced before.  
  
"My time and reality? You speak in riddles Leigh."  
  
"Yes. How do I explain the concept of sexual release to a virgin? It is like singing the most beautiful song to a man who is deaf. The only way I can possibly tell you is to just say it." She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Ardeth's expression had not changed one bit. He was still looking at her with deep concern.  
  
"I was born March 15, 1972 in the United States of America. Before I woke up in that corridor, I was employed by the largest Internet Service Provider in the United States as a technician and web site guru. The day that all this happened, I had been having a horrid day and wishing I was someplace else. I went home in the middle of the day after receiving a voicemail from my boyfriend telling me that I was just not what he was looking for to spend the rest of his life with. Thunderstorms swept through the city I lived in, striking lightening all over the place. I was in the process of shutting down my computer when lightening struck my home. What makes this so odd is this - I had two programs running. One was a movie, the other was a game. The movie was set in Egypt, with a man who looked much like you. The game, was set in Egypt, with a woman who was like me. Her name is Lara Croft and she is a world famous TombRaider. Somehow, in the cosmic comedy, I was transported here to this version of reality. Everything is as real to you as my life was to me."  
  
Ardeth's face had taken on a look of astonishment. So Hamid's fears were not unfounded. Perhaps she truly was mad. A soft rumbling purr drew his gaze down to Leigh's feet. There, twining in and out of her boots was the largest black cat he'd ever seen. The cat looked back at him with golden eyes, an elaborate golden and jeweled collar around it's neck - much like the decorations that the statues of Bast wore.  
  
Nicodemus sat down, wrapping his tail around his paws as he regarded the man staring at him.  
  
"When I said that I might not have the choice to stay, even if I wanted to - I meant it. The night after I woke up here, I had a dream. It was much like this, only I could see glimpses of other people's lives as I spoke with some voice. The voice told me I had to make a choice. That is when I first saw you. You and your people were raiding our camp that morning. Later that night I had another dream. This time I was told that I had to make a decision. The options were presented to me and I knew them already. But I would make the decision once my soul knew the choices. I found my cat, Nicodemus in that dream. The third dream I had confirmed my suspicion that no matter what I thought I wanted, my soul would make the decision that was right for me. That was shortly after you spanked me in front of my employees. I was meditating in my tent, trying to soothe my bruised derriere and ego. Nicodemus told me that he was sort of a guide, that in the end even if I consciously made a decision it might not matter at all."  
  
Nicodemus looked up at Leigh and meowed. He then looked at Ardeth. "She's not insane, Med-jai. What she is telling you is the truth. What she isn't telling you is the decision she has come to. Leigh chose to stay with you, even before you and she danced the mattress mambo. However, it isn't what is right for her. She knows this on a deeper level and this is why she is in such pain."  
  
--  
  
Harami = Thief  
  
**** 


	28. Waking Leigh Crawford

Ardeth's eyes were wide as saucers as he stared at the suddenly talking cat. "This... this is a hallucination!" he sputtered as he stood up. Then, as if noticing their surroundings for the first time, realization began to dawn in his eyes. He had heard of the Elders speaking of such magic before, but he had never even thought that it might be real. Then again, most people would not think it possible to wake a mummy after 3000 years of sleep.  
  
"No, MuHibb. This is very real. As much as I desire to stay with you, I cannot."  
  
"You... are going to leave, aren't you?"  
  
"I have no choice. When the acolytes knocked me unconscious, Nicodemus came to me, told me it was time to go home. He wanted me to go right then, but I convinced him to let me tell you first, that it was only fair to you."  
  
"NO. I will not allow you to leave." His face was stern, but his voice was soft like he knew that it was a futile effort.  
  
"Please, do not make this harder than it has to be." Her voice broke and the tears began to spill down her cheeks slowly. "I would stay with you if I could! I'm begging you Ardeth, don't do this..."  
  
"You, Nicodemus is it? You said it was time to go home... You can make it so she stays, can't you?"  
  
"It is not my decision. The decision truly never was Leigh's to make." Nicodemus made a small sound like a sigh. "There were other powers at work here. It was known of the danger to the icon and of both women's desire to be someplace different. So, a trade was performed. The Leigh I know was traded for the Leigh that Hamid knew. The idea was to give each a taste of what they wanted... AND to put an end to the danger to the icon at the same time. Unfortunately, the Leigh from your time actually should have died when she discovered the icon. My Leigh's body has been in a coma for coming on three weeks now. Time has passed differently in the two realities. Leigh needs to go back and reclaim her body before the soul inhabiting it dies and takes her body with it. If she does not, she will be stuck in the Crossroads for all eternity as a ghost."  
  
"What will happen to Leigh's body here, as I know her?"  
  
"She will return to her rightful place. And most likely with no knowledge of what happened. Time will be rewound for you back to when you first met Leigh Crawford and everything will happen over again. You will not remember anything that has happened."  
  
"No. I want to remember the Leigh I fell in love with. Perhaps it would be better that the returning Leigh die that to erase my memory of this Leigh."  
  
Leigh's head jerked up at his words. He loved her... "Make it work, Nicodemus."  
  
Nicodemus sighed again. "You two are asking for a lot. I don't know if they are willing for that to happen. To ask that the returning Leigh have all the memories of what has occurred here in her rightful time and still be faced with Ardeth when she comes back... It will upset the apple cart of the universe Leigh. There is no telling what the outcome will be."  
  
"Just do it, Nico. Please." She didn't wait for Nico's reply. Instead she closed the distance between her and Ardeth, throwing her arms around his neck and laying the mother of all liplocks on him. Ardeth responded in kind, the kiss desperate and possessive. He was kissing her for the last time and he wanted something to carry with him for the rest of his life. He knew that once his Harami was gone, he would not be able to love the Leigh that would appear in her place. She might look like her, but she would not be his Harami. That thought pained Ardeth.  
  
Around them, the void began to change. The seething mass of shadows began to alter and morph themselves back into Ardeth's tent. The body in his arms also began to change, to become more ethereal and surrounded by light. He knew that she was leaving him. The reality hit him hard enough to bring tears to his eyes. He pulled his mouth from hers long enough to whisper 'I love you' to her.  
  
Leigh whispered it to him in return as he began to fade from her vision. She was being pulled from him, she could feel it. Off to one side of her there was a ghost image of her, a mirror image. The other Leigh's face registered shock upon seeing the mirror image. But Leigh just sighed sadly and reached up to touch her lips. She wanted desperately to taste Ardeth's mouth one more time, but she knew it was not possible. Instead she reached out towards him. One last time she mouthed the words to him, 'I love you MuHibb.'  
  
Leigh's eyes opened slowly. Through a hazy and blurred vision, she gathered she was in the hospital. She tried to draw a deep breath, but she couldn't, there was something preventing it. Off to one side, a soft alarm sounded.  
  
"Miss Crawford? OH! You're awake!!" the petite little nurse's elderly and wrinkled face lit up with joy as she picked up the telephone to call the doctor. "We're so glad to see you wake up Miss Crawford! You really had us worried. I know of some people who will be more than thrilled to know you're awake too! Oh! I have to call that nice young man who brought you in too. He asked me to call when you woke up."  
  
Leigh closed her eyes. She was back in the year 2000, back in her time and reality. As the kind nurse chirped and bustled about, Leigh's silent tears trickled down onto the pillow.  
  
--  
  
MuHibb = Lover  
Harami = Thief  
  
****  
  
Stay tuned!! It's not over yet... 


	29. Destiny... Or Coincidence?

I just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone for their reviews! I took a big chance with this and twisted the basic concept of the character we all know and love.  
  
BIG shout out to Shelley for giving me the encouragement to write the potential sequel to this. I'm not sure when it'll happen, but Leigh is far from finished in the world of FICs!!  
  
Another shout out to Karen (KWeb) who beta'd this for me and threw in some suggestions as well.  
  
Yet one more to Deana for plotline suggestions. Without her, I wouldn't have found the icon at all.  
  
Last shout out goes to a dear friend of mine, My Heart Sib. She gave me some helpful hints and was the final proof reader of this. Love and Hugs Sibbie.  
  
And now, on with the conclusion... sort of...  
  
--  
  
December 17, 2000 - Seven Months Later  
  
Leigh Crawford's eyes stared out of the window of the luxury jetliner as it waited for departure. The passengers filing past her into coach class drifted into the background of her thoughts. She was daydreaming again. It was becoming easier and easier to think of Ardeth Bay, the lover she probably never truly had. It was all a dream, wasn't it? If so, how did she come by the scar on her upper left arm and the scar along her hairline where she dreamed she had hit her head on the stone archway in the temple ruins? Things that happen in dreams don't transfer, do they? She chuckled to herself as she ordered a glass of wine from the flight attendant. They would be departing soon enough to Portland. Life was going to be different up in Salem, WA. The weather alone was a big change...  
  
As she sipped at the Merlot, she thought back to when she woke up from the coma. Her co-workers were overjoyed to hear that she was alright. The little old lady across the street from her came by to check on her quite a few times after she had come home from the hospital. Most puzzling was the lack of an appearance by the man who supposedly found her and brought her into the emergency room the night she'd been hit by lightening. The nurse, Birdie, had told her that he was a tall good-looking man. He told the ER Chief Attending that he'd been trying to get back to his hotel and took a wrong turn off of the highway. He was driving down the street when he saw the lightening strike the house. The man apparently was concerned about whoever lived there and stopped to check. He told the doctors that the screaming of a cat inside the house and lack of response to his knocking prompted him to kick in the door. Upon which he found a limp and seemingly lifeless Leigh Crawford laying under the desk with her hand wrapped around the electrical plug of a now smoking computer.  
  
Leigh looked down at her right hand. To the doctor's amazement, there were never any signs of burns or electrocution on her. It was as if nothing like that had really happened to her. What puzzled them even further was the sudden appearance of the two scars where she had none when she was brought into the ER. Again she chuckled and took a sip of her wine. Birdie had taken a liking to Leigh as she quickly made progress. Birdie told Leigh that even though she called the number that had been given to the ER doctors, that the number was to the hotel he'd been staying in at the time and he had since returned home.  
  
Vaguely she was aware of someone sitting down in the seat next to her. It was a full flight after all. She couldn't see her fellow passenger's image in the glass, but she could see her own. The silver nose ring was still there, but her face seemed a bit older and more mature than she had before. Her eyes alone told of the haunted sadness that Leigh felt most of the time.  
  
"Miss..." the flight attendant smiled at the handsome man sitting next to the woman. "Miss...?"  
  
"Hmm? Aiwa, what is it?" Leigh blinked and turned to look at the flight attendant.  
  
The young woman blinked a moment in confusion. "We'll be departing in a moment or two. I need to collect your glass."  
  
"Yes, of course. Shukran." Leigh's use of Arabic since she'd woken up had disturbed a lot of her friends and co-workers. Most of the time she shrugged it off and told them that she had been taking lessons in Arabic online for months before her jolt of juice. As she handed her glass to the attendant, she turned to look back out of the window.  
  
"You speak Egyptian?" The voice held mild surprise, probably a little bit of concern as well. It'd only been a few months since she had woken up, but in that time she had begun speaking Arabic almost as fluently as those born to the language. What irked her was the looks she got out of everyone else... like she was the fucking plague...  
  
"Aiwa, I do. You have a problem with that?" she asked sharply as the plane jerked back. Leigh looked back from the window, fully prepared to tell the jerkwad off... and found herself staring into a pair of eyes she hadn't seen in 6 months.  
  
"MuHibb..." she whispered as her vision clouded.  
  
--  
  
Aiwa = Yes  
Shukran = Thank You  
MuHibb = Lover  
  
****  
  
To Be Continued in the UC: Undercover FIC "Written in the Sand" whenever I can get to it. STAY TUNED!! 


End file.
